This year's Stockdale baseball team is young. Really young. Third year coach Brad Showers starts 5 sophomores and two juniors. "People like to talk about the future with this team and these guys but I like talking about the now," said Showers. "Because they can play now."
On a team of young stars, one sophomore stands out and "makes a difficult game look easy." Batting in three spot second baseman Jalen Smith is one of the keys to the Mustangs' offense. In a game that's a much mental as it is physical, Jalen's gotten his edge from the faith his coach put in him by starting Jalen his freshman year.
"I felt like he had confidence that I could prove myself at this level even though I haven't proven myself yet," said Smith. Through the early part of this season Jalen's paid off his coach's belief by growing his own confidence at the plate. "Confidence is key in this game," he said.
Through 14 games Smith is hitting .442 but has never checked those numbers himself. While he hasn't, Coach Showers has and is most impressed with the number 0; as in the number of errors Smith has committed at a difficult position in the infield.
Undefeated in league play, the Mustangs are in a good spot this season and behind Jalen's consistent approach at the plate and in the field Coach Showers thinks this is just the beginning. "He's going to get bigger, faster and stronger and the fact that he's going to have four years varsity experience," said Showers. "He's a definite division I baseball player."
Stockdale looks to stay perfect in league tonight when they take on Frontier.
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