Marble Falls catcher to play baseball at Brookhaven College
2013 Marble Falls High School graduate and Mustang baseball player Joey Blackledge (right) will play college ball at Brookhaven College. Photo by Kelly Duffie
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — Recent Marble Falls High School graduate Joey Blackledge picked up an offer to play baseball for Brookhaven College about the time he was handed his diploma.
Blackledge was an all-District 25-4A catcher for the Mustangs the past two years but didn’t really think about playing college ball until Marble Falls head coach J.T. Blair stepped in.
Blair, who just completed his first season at Marble Falls, called Brookhaven coaches and sang Blackledge’s praises, the player said.
And the athlete and Brookhaven coaches both liked what they saw. Blackledge said there’s more than 10,000 students attending classes at the college in Farmers Branch, just north of Dallas.
“The facilities are nice,” he said. “I wanted to keep playing. I didn’t want to give it up.”
Originally an infielder, Blackledge changed positions because the Mustangs needed a catcher, he said.
But he’s open to changing positions for Brookhaven.
“I’ll be ready to play anywhere,” he said.
Blackledge will join a program that qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series after winning the metro Athletic Conference and the NJCAA Region V District C regional championship and finished No. 5 in the final poll.
Blackledge became the third Mustang to decide to play college baseball. Classmates Cole Ridgely, a pitcher, and Stacy Heinatz, an infielder, signed to play for McLennan Community College.
McLennan is a member of the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference.
jfierro@thepicayune.com