MARIETTA,
Ga. – The Orlando Scorpions Prime was able to take home an easy win
on Monday against Bandits Baseball. Foster Griffin led the team on
the mound for 3 1/3 innings of the five-inning contest.
During
his time on the mound, Griffin only allowed one single hit, walking
only two and striking out seven. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound left-hander
is ranked No. 46 on the Perfect Game High School Class of 2014
National Rankings.
“It
is an honor to be ranked 46 (because) before I was like 343. So it
was a big jump,” said Griffin about his national rank.
Griffin
is from Orlando, Fla., and attends The First Academy High School,
where he plays both baseball and golf.
“Our
high school team is real good. We’ve got a couple players around
this team that are going there; Adam Haseley who’s going to
Virginia, (and) Ben DeLuzio who got drafted in the third round, but
ended up going to Florida State,” added Griffin. “We had a really
good team. We ended up losing the regional quarters but it was a fun
experience.”
One
would think having a dad who is a professional golfer that Griffin
would pursue a career following in his father’s footsteps. However,
that is not the case. Griffin has already verbally committed to play
baseball at Mississippi after he graduates in 2014.
“(My
dad) knew that baseball was my passion so he supported me and let me
go after that,” explained Griffin. “I committed (to Mississippi)
back in November. I went up there a little bit before that and went
to the Vanderbilt football game and knew once I left the campus I was
going to go there.”
Griffin
has the hopes of going pro just like any other ball player, and said
he’s been talking to a few pro scouts here and there. He said he’s
“waiting until the summers over to get talking with them a little
more,” not surprising since scouts conduct most of their home
visits during the offseason.
While
Griffin was doing work on the mound in Monday’s game, Carl Chester
was on fire at the plate. The 6-foot 170-pound leadoff hitter
crushed two doubles to right field, one in the second inning and
another in the fourth. He led his team in RBI in this game with two.
He was also recognized as a Perfect Game 2013 Underclass First Team
All-American, and is ranked 44th nationally and No. 7 in Florida.
“It’s
just a real honor to be that high,” said Chester. “I was, I
think, 73 (before the updated rankings). Just to be (in the) top 50
was my real goal. I’m just honored to be on there with all the kids
who are on that.”
Carl Chester had a pair of doubles batting leadoff for the Orlando Scorpions Prime on Monday night.
Chester
is from Longwood, Fla., and attends Lake Brantley High School, along
with Orlando Scorpions Prime teammates Logan Warmoth and Tate Blackman (Mississippi commit).
“We
ended up winning the 8A State Championship this year,” said Chester
about his high school team.
Chester,
along with two of his other Scorpions teammates, John Jones and Jesse
Lepore, is committed to play baseball at Miami after he graduates in
2014.
“I
committed at the end of my sophomore year,” explained Chester.
“Miami came (to see me) and I went down there and really enjoyed
the school and the atmosphere and the coaches. It was just a gut
feeling.”
Chester,
Griffin, Warmoth, Blackman, Haseley, Jones and Lepore all
participated in the Perfect Game 2013 National Showcase that took
place in early June in Minneapolis, Minn., speaking to the amount of
talent the Orlando Scorpions Prime roster boasts.
“I
went last year and it was real fun,” said Chester about his
experience in the Metrodome both at the National Showcase this year
and the Junior National in 2012. “I went up again this year in
Minnesota. Playing in the dome is a lot of fun. It was a great
challenge, (and) everything went well.”
“They
gave us two innings to throw,” added Griffin of his National
Showcase experience. “My first inning I gave up one hit and two
strikeouts. And (in the) second inning I struck out two again and got
a ground out. And then I topped out at 92. It was a really cool
experience.”
Both
Griffin and Chester will be competing with the Orlando Scorpions
Prime in the 17u BCS Finals in Ft. Myers next week.
“Both
are very good players, college commits and high draft kind of guys,”
said head coach of the Orlando Scorpions Prime Jesse Marlo. “Both
guys come out and play the game hard.
“For
me personally, I compete against them a lot. I coach at rival high
schools and we hate to play those guys when they’re on the other
side of the field but love having them on our team. They’re both
good competitors and pretty much leaders of their high school teams.”
The
Orlando Scorpions program has been around since 1995, and continues
to grow. The travel ball organization works to “positively affect
the lives of its players both on and off the field.”
“Primarily
we get central Florida kids, but we’ve branched out a little
further and are getting kids from Tallahassee and north Florida,”
explained Marlo. “We just try to put the best teams out there and
give them a good opportunity to be seen by scouts and colleges.”