North Adams leads the way with three all-conference performers –
Story and photos by Mark Carpenter –
A season of hard work paid off for seven Adams County baseball players as they were recently recognized by the coaches of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference as members of the 2017 SHAC All-Conference Team. Those seven included: Brandan Cornell and Janson Kramer from West Union, Bryant Lung, Austin Parks, and Elijah Young from North Adams, and Colton Thornburg and Bryan Young from Manchester.
The sophomore Cornell was the leading hitter for the Dragons this spring, collecting 23 hits in 65 at-bats for a .354 average. Cornell banged out four doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs, scoring 12 runs and driving home 15.
The right-handed throwing Cornell also pitched 35 1/3 innings for the Dragons, going 2-5 with a 5.94 earned run average, striking out 47 hitters. The pitching highlight for Cornell was an early season no-hitter against Whiteoak.
Kramer was the second leading West Union hitter, going 20-57 for a .351 average. The senior second baseman scored 13 runs and drove home 13. He also spent time on the pitcher’s mound, tossing 25 2/3 innings, going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Kramer fired back to back shutouts against Ripley to highlight his season on the hill.
The junior Lung put together one of the most solid seasons in the area, performing both sides of the batter as a catcher and pitcher for the Gree Devils. Lung batted .422 on the year (30-78), drove in 14 runs, scored 21, had 12 doubles, a .422 on-base percentage, and a .577 slugging percentage. On the mound, Bryant went 2-1 with a 5.25 earned run average in 18 2/3 innings of work, fanning 26 hitters. Doing most of his defensive work behind the plate, the junior backstop committed just three errors in 104 chances.
Parks was the ace of the North Adams pitching staff, going 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA, starting six games and throwing 35 innings with 30 strikeouts. At the plate, the senior Parks hit . 284 with 19 hits in 67 at-bats, driving home 14 and scoring 17 times. In the field, playing a mix of infield and outfield, he had just two errors in 44 chances, a .909 fielding percentage.
Sophomore Elijah Young was a pleasant surprise for Coach Rob Meade and his Devils’ staff in 2017, batting .367 (22-60), with nine RBI’s and 19 runs scored and a .441 on-base percentage. In the field, mostly playing shortstop, Young committed just four errors in 55 chances (.927).
The Greyhounds of Manchester placed two very deserving seniors on the All-SHAC squad, beginning with catcher Colton Thornburg. Thornburg was Adams County’s leading hitter, going 29-62 for an impressive .468 average. He banged out eight doubles, drove home 25 runs, crossed the plate 21 times himself, racking up a .539 OBP and a slugging percentage of .597.
Classmate Bryan Young filled multiple positions for the Greyhounds, going from pitcher to center field, to the infield at times. Young had an outstanding senior season, batting .391 (25-64) with five doubles, five triples, and a pair of home runs. Young drove home 16 runs, scored 25, with a .481 OBP and a .719 slugging percentage.
In his time on the mound, the senior right hander was 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA, striking out 43 batters in 32 innings of work.
The remainder of the All-SHAC Baseball squad included: Ethan Battson (Eastern Brown), Tay Call (Fayetteville), Clay Davis (Fayetteville), Cody Gragg (Fairfield), Traeton Hamilton (Whiteoak), Bricen Hess (Lynchburg), Calder Holton (Eastern Brown), Kevin Schmid (Eastern Brown), Zak Smyth (Fayetteville), Klay Walker (Fairfield), Josh Wolfe (Lynchburg), and Trever Yeager (Whiteoak).
Fayetteville’s Tay Call was named SHAC Player of the Year, with Eastern Brown’s Steve Goetz named Coach of the Year.
Final SHAC Baseball Standings
Division I (Big School)
Eastern Brown 11-2
Lynchburg 8-4
West Union 5-8
Peebles 4-8
Ripley 0-11
Division II
(Small School)
Fayetteville 9-4
Fairfield 9-4
North Adams 7-6
Whiteoak 6-7
Manchester 5-8