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High School  | General  | 3/5/2023

IMG Claims Showdown 3-Peat

Jered Goodwin     
Photo: IMG Ascenders (Perfect Game)




Hoover feels like home for IMG: Ascenders Capture Back-to-Back-to-Back Titles
 
Hoover, Ala. -- A really anticipated matchup between two titanic programs, IMG Ascenders and Houston County, finally came together in the Blue Championship Game. After a close game through three innings IMG would put up eleven in the 4th inning to put the game away and bring home the hardware.
 
The 1st inning started off hot with Houston County getting a single from Drew Burress, followed by a loud double off the bat of three-hole hitter Andrew Dunford. Dunford’s double coming off a 90 mph fastball. Troy Carpenter would hit a ground ball to drive in Burress. IMG would respond in the bottom half after they worked a couple walks and then got a single from TayShaun Walton to drive in the first run. Stone Russell followed Walton with a sacrifice fly to take the lead 2-to-1, a lead they would not surrender.
 
IMG Starter Noah Franco and Houston County starter Brooks Willis would exchange a couple of zero frames before IMG’s enormous 4th inning.
 
The scoring started with a one out triple by Andre Modugno that rattled off the rightfield wall. Dean Moss and Zion Ross had a single in the inning with Jackson LaLima notching two singles in the inning. The biggest blow was Walton though. He unloaded on an opposite field triple to score three runs and put a cap in the monstrous eleven run inning.
 
Franco settled down after the 1st inning and dominated the next three innings giving up just a single hit in his final three innings. He finished the day throwing four innings and striking out five batters.
 
IMG scored 38 runs during the Championship run before knocking off Nationally ranked Houston County.
 
Houston County knocked off Nationally ranked North Broward Prep and returning champion Central on the way to the championship game.
 
MVP-Player – TayShaun Walton
MV-Pitcher – Cameron Johnson
 
Other Notables From Day 3


Hunter Baynes, RHP, 2023; IMG Academy (Fla.)
Baynes only got an inning of work, but it was a really good one as he came out throwing strikes with pretty easy gas. It was 90-92, bumping 93, and his longer arm stroke/extended release gives it really good carry up in the zone. He showed a hard-diving changeup and he can spin it a bit, but the ability to miss bats like he did with the fastball is notable and there’s great upside.
 
Lawson Williams, 1B, 2024; Hartselle (Ala.)
Williams stood out a bit with the bat in a Hartselle lineup that is chalked full of talented left-handed hitters. He’s physical and there’s obvious strength in the swing, which he showed with multiple extra-base hits over the course of the weekend and he added a bomb on the final day. Given the consistency of the bat over the course of facing solid arms and the impact he has, he could be an interesting follow as a still uncommitted junior.

Grant Breaux, RHP, 2024; Catholic BR (La.)
Breaux didn’t have overly great results against a loaded Parkview lineup, but he looks the part of one of the better underclass arms in the region. It’s a long and projectable body with a loose and fast arm, with the arm speed to project much more velocity, and he’s already pitching in the 87-90 range with good life to the fastball. He gets over the front side well on the breaking ball and gets late snap off the fastball plane and overall, the components give him pretty huge upside as everything really clicks over the next year.

 
Eli Tidwell, SS, 2023; Hartselle (Ala.)
Tidwell is one of those established guys in this lineup that really makes it go and he was pretty impressive over the course of the event, hitting up over .400 including a monster bomb that cleared the right-center wall at the Met by a good margin. It’s an athletic profile and the feel to hit stands out while he can make some impressive moves with the lower half to get the barrel out with big intent and let the strength/bat speed go to work on impacting the ball pull side.
 
Josh Hanson, OF, 2024; IMG Academy (Fla.)
Hanson is obviously very established given he’s committed to USC and is ranked in the top 300 in the country, but I think he’s got the components to pop a bit more. He took some really good swings in the late game on the final day and it’s super well-rounded in terms of boxes checked. He’s physical now but has good athleticism, albeit probably in a corner long-term, and it’s a good swing with the bat speed and overall feel to hit that bodes well for the future.
 
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