Summer baseball allows area teams a chance to play together
MARBLE FALLS — A 25-game summer baseball schedule will give Marble Falls High School athletes an opportunity to better develop their skills.
That’s according to summer coach Jerry Watson.
The Mustangs will have several members of the varsity team including pitchers Cody Goodman and Saul Guzman and catcher Jay Watson.”We want to play a lot more games and make it more appealing for someone who travels and goes to Austin to play select ball,” Jerry Watson said.
“Almost all the kids on the incoming varsity have decided to play with us. That makes the product better for those kids.”
The games will be played at Scearce Baseball Field, 2101 Mustang Drive. A double-header starts 5:30 p.m. June 2 when the Mustangs welcome Lampasas.
Also playing include Copperas Cove, Liberty Hill, Burnet, Llano and Fredericksburg.
Coordinator David Norwood, who serves as the Mustangs’ head baseball coach during the high school year, said Marble Falls will have 16 players on the squad that have been practicing for three weeks.
He likes the number, noting this way each athlete gets plenty of playing time and Marble Falls won’t have to break them into two teams.
“The more at-bats you get, the better off you are,” he said. “The more ground balls you get, the better off you are. What’s more important to me is how many games you play together.”
The University Interscholastic League announced a change in the kind of bats teams will use in 2012.
The shift means moving from an aluminum bat to a bat that will be a cross between wood and aluminum for safety reasons.
Norwood said he is unsure if the summer team will use the new bats.
The UIL doesn’t allow players to use the school’s equipment, Norwood said a Mustang can buy a new bat or use one from an opponent if one is available.
He believes the players will improve without the challenges of playing during the District 25-4A season.
“We have quality people to help coach them during the summer,” he said. “I’ve never missed a summer league game. We’re going to be to make sure it’ll be fun.”