In a game that can be thoroughly dominated by solid pitching, the Colonels and head coach B. D. Parker have found a way to still produce solid numbers when it comes to hitting.Although their pitching staff has shown signs of light this season, it’s the Colonels’ hitting that ranks in the top of the conference.
“Hitting is as much mental as it is physical,” Colonel head baseball coach B.D. Parker said. “It becomes a natural thing once you get to the Division I level.”
Led by senior Bubba Bell and sophomore Thomas Borne, the Colonels find themselves ranked towards the top of the conference in various hitting categories.
Currently, the Colonels are batting .284 as a team, putting them fourth out of the 10 teams in the Southland Conference, a league known to have solid pitching.
On the individual stage, the Colonels are in the top three in the conference in batting, hits, runs batted in and doubles.
Senior outfielder Bubba Bell has produced the majority of those hits for the Colonels, ranking first in batting average with a .403.
In addition to the batting average, Bell is atop the conference in hits (56), runs batted in (36) and doubles (15).
“When we lost Anthony Hatch for the season, we lost our power hitter,” Parker said. “Bell has stepped up and is having a great year for us. He’s one of the only players who is hitting above .400 in the Southland Conference.”
Before his injury, senior Anthony Hatch was also atop the conference in hitting with a .393 average and is still currently on top the conference with six home runs even after the injury. As a team the Colonels were ranked first in the conference but since have dropped to fourth in the conference.
Colonels hitting coach Jacob Carlson said he has his own beliefs toward hitting.
“When it comes to coaching hitting, I have my own beliefs,” Carlson said. “My main thing is to try and hit the fastball. I feel that if we can hit the fastball then everything else should come naturally.”
When it comes to practice, Parker said hitting drills are practiced every day.
“We hit everyday in practice,” Parker said. “It’s one of those things every team addresses from the beginning of the season to the end.”
Being in the top half of the conference in hitting has its high points, but Carlson said there’s always room for improvement.
“Sure we’re happy with being ranked towards the top of conference in hitting, but we can always improve,” Carlson said. “It gives me some feeling of accomplishment being that I’m the hitting coach, but personally I’d rather be the first place team in the conference overall than be ranked towards the top in hitting. Overall though, it’s still good for us.”
Despite seeing various successes in hitting, Parker said he’d still choose pitching over hitting any day.
“Pitching wins championships,” Parker said. “Not every team will hit the ball well every day. Weather and wind conditions can play factors in the way a team hits, where if a team has good pitchers then they won’t have to rely on hitting as much.”
At this point in the season Parker said his team would still be competitive in both hitting and pitching categories as the season winds down.
“I’m confident these guys will get it done,” Parker said. “Our guys have done a good job of competing, and I expect they will continue to do so.
