Becoming one of the best

By Jason simcoe

Published: May 17, 2008

Brandon Mack likes playing baseball in Florida.

It’s where his light bulb moment came last August. The CCHS junior was in the Sunshine State for a tournament sponsored by the athletic apparel company Under Armour. There, something clicked.

“When I went down there it gave me a whole lot of confidence because I was right there with some of the top kids in the nation,” Mack said.

When he returned to Florida in March to play with the Blue Devils in the Westminster National Classic, Mack caught fire. He went 9 for 11 at the plate that week and was selected to the all-tournament team.

Since returning from that trip, Mack has continued to hit the ball with authority. He entered last week with a .339 batting average and is among the team leaders in RBI and stolen bases.

An honorable mention all-district selection as a sophomore last spring, Mack spent the summer and fall sharpening his skills with the Potomac Diamond Dawgs and the Central Va. Sting.

“I’m just trying to keep everything constant and continuous,” Mack said. “Do everything the same way every time.”

It’s paid off. Always a dangerous hitter, Mack has taken his game to another level.

“Now he’s taken it from being good to being one of the better ones,” CCHS coach Danny Nobbs said. “Now he’s not trying to get pull happy. He’s spraying the ball around.”

Mack’s maturation as a player is one of the reasons the Blue Devils finished the season with a .500 record for the first time in more than a decade and head into the Cedar Run District tournament, which starts Monday, on a roll.

They’ve won five of their past seven games, and twice this season lost to district powerhouse Battlefield by a single run.

Mack hits in the heart of a dangerous lineup. On most nights, opposing pitchers face slugger Hunter Kenney, centerfielder Jeremy Brown and Mack — the team’s top three RBI men — consecutively. The collection of big bats has Mack thinking about a tournament run. When they’re on, he said, the Blue Devils are dangerous.

“We’re a hitting team,” Mack said. “We can hang with any team we play.”

Jason Simcoe can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or