By Anvil Welch
Globe Sports Writer
CARTHAGE, Mo. —
Several members of the Carthage American Legion baseball team swung hot bats last weekend as the Merchants won the Zone III AAA Tournament.
The Merchants, 3-0 in the double-elimination event, outscored their opponents 41-27 at Carl Junction High School.
But no Carthage player swung a more torrid bat than first baseman Caleb Fierro.
The left-handed batting Fierro, keyed by one 6-for-6 game, finished with 12 hits in 15 at-bats. He added eight RBI and seven runs scored.
Said Carthage coach James Kinder: “He became locked in at the plate and didn’t miss many pitches. He obviously was seeing the ball well. He struck out in his last at-bat of the tournament. But the other two times he was retired he hit balls very hard. He also played well in the field during the zone.
“Caleb (a 6-foot, 175-pounder) is an athletic first baseman,” Kinder said on Monday. “He runs pretty well for a first baseman. He certainly can hit the ball.”
Said Fierro of the zone performance: “I wanted to go to the plate and concentrate on giving my best each time. I was seeing the ball well. It looked large coming in there.”
Fierro was 1-for-3 with two runs scored in Carthage’s 13-8 championship win against Springfield Hillcrest on Sunday at Carl Junction High School.
He singled to start a four-run second inning before getting robbed of another hit to center field by a diving Joel Lewallen the next inning.
Kinder appreciates more than the sheer numbers logged by Fierro.
“I don’t believe he’s missed a game in four summers,” Kinder said. “He’s quiet and leads with his actions. He isn’t vocal.”
Fierro has helped Carthage (31-10) reach the four-state finals for the second time in three seasons.
Carthage will open in the four-team event at 8:30 on Thursday night at Sedalia against defending champion Festus.
Fierro recalled a 0-2 effort in 2008 at state.
“The competition was real tough,” he said. “We don’t have that many seniors this season but we do have more experience.”
Fierro, an all-Central Ozark Conference Large Division selection for Mike Godfrey as a senior, was a four-year starter at Carthage High School.
“I need to improve my power,” Fierro said. “I lifted almost daily in high school. But I haven’t been as dedicated in the summer and I know in college that approach will have to change.”
Fierro said he considered transferring to Joplin High School before his junior year so he could play for a cousin, Kirk Harryman, with the baseball Eagles.
“It would have been nice to play for my cousin,” Fierro said. “But I’d been playing baseball with these (Carthage) guys forever. I think we have great team chemistry.”
