Southlake Carroll, Memorial, Cypress Fair, Klein Collins, Goose Creek
February 27, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
HOUSTON, TX - With tons of rain rolling through Texas last week, tournament schedules changed. Fortunate for us, Memorial HS had a tarp, so we headed to Houston early Friday morning, leaving behind rain and 40 degree temps in Dallas. The weather in Houston could not have been more ideal, 80 degrees and sunny. But it was not just the weather that made for a great weekend. The level of competition in the Spring Branch ISD Tournament could summon any baseball fan to the yard. Here are more highlights on players that stood out on opening day.
DAVILA CARRIES KLEIN COLLINS
Klein Collins High School got a pair of wins on Friday, coming from behind to score 4 in the last frame to take a walk-off win against the No. 2 team in Texas Power 25 (Southlake Carroll). In the sixth and final game on Friday, they boat-raced George Ranch. 2018 3B Diego Davila had a stellar day at the plate. The Sam Houston State commit recorded the game winning knock for the walk-off win against Southlake Carroll, and then proceeded to almost hit for the cycle in game 6 against George Ranch. In his first at-bat against Houston commit 2018 Ty Abraham, Davila sent a towering homerun deep to left field on a hanging curveball. The right-handed hitter then doubled to right-centerfield and singled to centerfield for an RBI. The game was called because of the tournament run rule, leaving him a triple short of the cycle.
SOUTHLAKE CARROLL
Southlake Carroll, ranked No. 2 in the Texas Power 25, has a balanced lineup that is highlighted by numerous returners. However, two sophomores are also nice additions to the varsity club this year in 2B Jorge Figueroa, and C/DH Yanluis Ortiz. Both players are committed to Miami, and both were standouts at the I-10 Border Battle. In Game 1, Figueroa had a sharp single to centerfield on an 87 mph fastball. In two games on Friday, Ortiz was on the barrel multiple times. He has high end bat speed and a strong, broad shouldered frame. He lined out to shortstop, doubled to left-centerfield on a curveball, and flew out to left field toward the end of the barrel.
In game 2 of a double-header, Coach Vucan ran out a much different lineup than game 1, giving us the chance to see a number of uncommitted players, but also our first look at Eastern Kentucky commit, 2018 OF Marcus Hill. Hitting in the leadoff spot, hill went 2-for-3 with two singles and flew out to right field. After a single to centerfield, Hill stole second base vs. a LHP, going first move and beating the pick to first and throw to second base. On an infield single he ran a 4.27 home to first time. A long stride runner, Hill gets to full speed quickly and has a natural acceleration with more speed to come in the future.