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Wednesday, June 13, 2007 1:08 AM CDT
Massengill named all-state shortstop
By Mike Monahan Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
HERSCHER – Recent Neoga graduate David Massengill, who is to play baseball at Lake Land, was one of 25 players named to the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association All-State team.
“I don’t know what to say,” said an elated Neoga coach Ted Kerner, who didn’t know of the honor when contacted. “It is definitely good for the program. Hopefully it can provide some attention to the program and some of the younger kids have the same opportunities.”
Massengill was 41 of 93 for a .441 batting average and was one of three shortstops named to the all-state team. He led the Journal-Gazette/Times-Courier area in home runs with ten, which was Massengill’s goal at the start of the season.
“He is just an all-around player,” said Kerner. “He definitely puts the bat on the ball. He only struck out six times all spring. He hits for power. He had 14 extra base hits out of his 41.”
Massengill, who is playing for the Effingham All-Star Senior Babe Ruth team and doing workouts set by Lake Land coach Jim Jarrett to prepare for the Lakers season said, “I had no idea why he (Kerner) was calling. It is really a nice honor and I’m really surprised. It is pretty cool, especially coming from a small school to be an all-stater.”
Massengill drove in 38 runs in 27 games for the 19-8 Indians, who finished 8-11 overall in the fall, including 3-5 in the National Trail Conference. Massengill was a first team all-NTC player in the fall.
“A lot of what he did (as far as runs batted in) can be attributed to the guys in front of him getting on base (Alex Walk, Dalton Robinson and Jared Massengill) in front of him, but David still had to get the hit for us. He did a great job and was able to come up with key hits and drive in some key runs.”
Kerner said Massengill’s arm at shortstop was extremely valuable.
“He can make some spectacular plays especially going into the hole,” said Kerner. “He has a great arm and can throw someone out init he hole. He helped turn doubles plays and made us a more dangerous team when you have someone that can cover that much ground at shortstop.”
Also on the all-state team were two Eastern Illinois University bound players in Columbia catcher Ben Thoma and right-handed pitcher Josh Mueller, also of the IHSA Class A state champion Eagles.
Two other National Trail Conference players were also named in outfielder Jason Runde of Teutopolis and Logan Mahon, a pitcher from St. Elmo.
“It is nice to be in with the other players from the NTC,” said Massengill. “Hopefully getting this award will lead to some honors at Lake Land.”
Three members of the Okaw Valley Conference, which also includes area teams Sullivan and Shelbyville, were named all-state. They were Clinton’s Bo Kinger; Maroa-Forsyth’s Troy Davis, a junior, and Argenta-Oreana junior Bryce Bowman.
Massengill becomes the second area player to be named to the all-state team in the five years of existence. Shelbyville’s Jason Sullivan earned the honor last year.
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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Neoga Fan wrote on Jun 13, 2007 9:33 AM: