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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/24/2019

Augusta Bats get their shot

Jack Nelson     
Photo: Tyler Rowland (Perfect Game)

MARIETTA, Ga. – When you think of Augusta, Ga., your mind probably drifts to spring time, the green jacket, and Tiger Woods wowing hoards of spectators with some heroics at Amen Corner. While the city will always be hallowed ground for golfers, the Augusta Bats have come to the Perfect Game 16u Summer Showdown to prove that the area can hold their own on the baseball field.

In their opening game on Wednesday, the Bats walloped HBA 16u, 10-1. Offense was the story, as the Bats put up crooked numbers in the first and third innings to push the game out of reach early. Leading the way were Matthew Mebane, Evan Lambert and Nate Heffline. Mebane was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Lambert was 2-for-2 and Heffline was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Jackson Smith added two hits as well.

“We swung the bats well,” said coach William Rowland said. “I was happy with the way we stayed back and how patient we were. We swung at strikes.”

Rowland was understandably thrilled with the hot start. The group drove two and a half hours across Georgia to get their shot at the blue bloods of travel ball. The boys from Augusta are salivating at their chance to take on the likes of East Cobb, Team Elite and 6-4-3.

“Our goal is to win our pool and make it to the weekend,” Rowland said. “We have some good arms still left to throw. We want to make it to the playoffs and get our chance at the big guns here.”

Speaking of the staff, Tyler Rowland got the ball on Wednesday morning and thrived. The righty worked three hitless innings, striking out three and walking just one. Will Parris came on in relief and tossed an effective two innings, allowing a run on two hits. The duo benefited from excellent infield defense behind them, as the Bats turned two double plays in key situations.

The Bats have just one team in the entire program. This 16u group is all they have. They are in every sense a local team, and that gives them the advantage of having more practices and greater team chemistry. But the flip side is that they come into the tournament relatively unknown. They have no players committed to play in college yet. So aside from winning games, Rowland’s main goal this week is to spread the word and get the right eyes in the stands.

“We mostly draw from a few high schools in Augusta,” Rowland said. “But we also added Nate Heffline and Matthew Mebane for this tournament. They’re both big-time players, and I think they’re sure-fire Division I kids. Colleges definitely need to come out and watch them play.”

A native of Texas, Heffline is a 6-foot-5, 240-pound lefthanded first baseman. He is listed as a high follow in Perfect Game’s high school class of 2020. Mebane is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound third baseman from Hilton Head Island, S.C. The 2021 high school grad is also listed as a high follow according to Perfect Game.

“We have some talent on this team,” Rowland said. “We have guys that have been together for a number of years now, and I believe a few of them are solid Division I prospects. I wouldn’t say we have dominant pitching, but our pitchers throw strikes and compete.”

Rowland’s dream is to see all his kids off to college baseball. He’s certainly in the right spot, and as long as the Bats keep racking up victories, notice will continue to build. Team success inevitably brings individual honors.  And with their two remaining pool play games against Team Elite 16u National and the 6-4-3 DP 15u Jaguars Ludlow, the Bats will surely be given the opportunity to prove their mettle.

“The objective is the get these kids to the next level,” Rowland said. “We have kids that are good enough to go play in college. My role is to get them better, get them at bats, get them time on the field, and hopefully someone will see them and realize what kind of players they are.”

“I think one through nine, all of our guys have the ability to play in college at some level,” he said. “It’s my job to get them there.”
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