3/4/2016 8:25:49 PM
3/4/2016
The Evoshield Invitational kicked off on Friday afternoon as well as a set of JUCO games featuring Georgia Highlands Chargers, Cuyahoga CC Challengers, and the Macomb CC Monarchs.
The standouts from today's action include:
So. LHP Tristan Roberts, Georgia Highlands
The 6-foot-1, 190 pound Roberts looks his listed height and weight on the mound with an athletic frame and room to continue to fill out and add strength. Roberts utilized a short, compact arm action with good, downhill extension. He landed on-line and did very well to repeat his delivery, helping him consistently throw strikes. He worked his fastball 87-89 mph, topping out at 90 mph, and showed the ability to generate arm-side life working inside well on right-handers. Roberts opened the game striking out the side, filling the zone and challenging hitters to chase his fastball up and out of the zone. His velocity held well sitting 86-88 mph in his fourth and final inning. Roberts mixed in a 11-5 shaped curveball a handful of times as well, showing some depth and sharpness. The pitch was used sparingly, but showed the ability to keep hitters off balance.
So. 1B/LHP Daniel Gooden, Georgia Highlands
When he's not on the mound with his fastball that touches 90 mph, Gooden reprises his role as clean-up hitter for the Chargers and has been mentioned several times for each in this blog. Today at the plate Gooden delivered a trio of hard hit balls, leaving the bat at 97.6, 92.1, and 93.5 mph respectively. The third and final one left the yard for his fourth home run of the year.
Sr. SS Palmer Ford, Virgil Grissom HS (AL)
The senior committed to Wallace State, listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds with plenty of room to fill out in his athletic frame. Ford showed a really simple swing at the plate with above average bat speed. Starting tall in the box with a high hand set, Ford did well to match his swing plane through the zone and look to drive the ball. He collected a pair of base hits including a loud triple that left the bat at 93.8 mph and another hard hit single. Ford showed clean actions at short stop with soft hands and a good arm across the infield.
Jr. 3B Tyler Nichols, Ringgold HS (GA)
Nichols impressed for the Tigers in their come-from-behind win over Virgil Grissom on Friday night. Nichols showed smooth actions at the hot corner with very soft hands a quick transfer. He made a fantastic play on a slow roller that was the final out of the game. He also collected a pair of hits at the plate using a level swing and showed some bat speed through the zone.