Area players shine in all-star games
North Houston juniors, seniors impress scouts in summer HABCA games
The area sent a host of players to the Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association All-Star games last week at the University of Houston.
The Class 6A NorthSouth All-Star game, won 7-2 by the South, featured Kingwood’s Monroe Moll and Atascocita’s Matt Willrodt, and the 5Aand-under game, which the North won 144, also included two area players, Kingwood Park’s Curtis Rhodes and Huffman Hargrave’s Cody Gaitan.
The junior all-star contest boasted three more locals – Kingwood’s A.J. Irvin, Humble’s Tyrese Clayborne and Hargrave’s Stephen Keller.
“Once you get those games going, and you see all that talent on the field in the same place, it’s pretty special,” said Kingwood coach Kelly Mead, who helped coordinate the games as HABCA’s secretary.
Irvin played for the blue team, which won 9-3.
Mead said playing in the all-star games is an honor for all the players, but the games are particularly important for the juniors, who have the chance to showcase their skills for college and pro scouts.
“With the junior game, we get a list from the area scouts of kids they’d like to see, and we put together a game,” Mead said.
“We try to do a good job of showcasing the talent within the Houston area, because there is a ton of baseball talent in the Houston area – I’m a believer in that – and the junior game was really good.
“You have a bunch of pro scouts and a bunch of college scouts who show up to watch that game, and then they hang around for the Tuesday night games and watch those seniors, because in that senior game you’ll have a lot of seniors who are already signed, but you’ll have a few who are unsigned and uncommitted still, and still looking for a place to play, who just had really good years.”
It was a particularly good year for the HABCA all-star games, which featured talent from nearly every corner of the Houston area.
The HABCA began holding all-star games in the 1990s, and they’ve only grown since.
“When we first started, we had a northeast and a southeast, and a northwest and a southwest, so we tried to really highlight all different areas,” Mead said. “And I don’t want to say it got watered down, but we had a lot more (uncommitted players), and we noticed we weren’t getting as many (college) commitments, just because summer baseball got so big and kids are traveling all over.
“So we decided to follow what the state does, and do a north-south or east-west type deal, and we decided to go north-south.”
The junior game is redblue, with an even division of the selected talent on each roster, beginning with a fair distribution of the pitchers and catchers for the nine-inning high school showcase.
Irvin came out of the bullpen for Kingwood this past season.
He started in several tournament games early on, and won every game he started, then settled in behind Thomas Allison and Sean Rydell in district. But he came up big late in the season, beating College Park 7-3 to help Kingwood make the playoffs in a three-game week caused by a rain-out.
He allowed only four singles all in one inning of the win over the Cavaliers.
Irvin also led Kingwood past Klein Oak, winning Game 3 5-1 to send the Mustangs to the second round of the playoffs.
The 5-11 righthander is expected to play a much bigger role next season.
“He did what he was supposed to because he worked his butt off all year, and then when we got there toward the end of the year, and we needed him, he was just as good as one and two,” Mead said.
“I felt really good going into Game 3 of any series with him on the mound, because I figured if we split Games 1 and 2 he would win Game 3.”
Moll and Willrodt played for the North in the 6A all-star game.
Moll, who manned first base, leaves Aug. 10 for Louisiana-Lafayette, which Mead said recruited him for his bat.
“He’s an unbelievable kid,” Mead said.
“He’s a very high-character kid, he’s got great grades, his work ethic is next to none, and once he gets to ULL, with (head) coach (Tony) Robichaux and coach (Jeremy) Talbot and coach (Anthony) Babineaux and those guys, he’s only going to continue to get better.”