North Central baseball recently returned from a weekend tournament hosted by the Lions which was held at Texas A&M University. The Lions put together a JUCO tournament every year for the past four years down in Aggieland. The Lions finished with a winning record on the weekend. Head Coach Scott Harp was pleased how the team played after not being able to practice outside for two weeks due to all the rain. The Lions have had three players suit up for the Aggies in the past including the Big 12 Player of the Year Jose Duran during the 2008 season.

Photos are courtesy of Debbie Foster.

Former Lions Mark Cohoon from Mansfield, Texas, was recently named Class A player of the year in the New York Mets Organization. He was one win shy of breaking the wins record while playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones this past season. He never missed a start the entire season while helping the Cyclones reach the post season. He was flown up to New York to spend the weekend to watch the Mets in a three-game series and to be presented with his award. Mark played on the Regional Finals team of 2007 in which the Lions finished 43-15 while climbing as high as 11th in the National JUCO poll.

After a doubleheader, the North Central Texas College Baseball team held a clinic with some local baseball players. Teams headed up by Colby Sparks, Cy Bender, and Steve Kessler brought their players out for some Lions instruction. After the Lions finished playing, the little leaguers were invited out onto Darwin Field for thirty minutes of defensive instruction. Lions’ players went to their individual position and worked with the kids on specific defensive skills. After the part was finished, all the players went to the outfield to play a game in which several homeruns were hit by the little leaguers. Throughout the day, hot dogs and hamburgers were served to all the players, little leaguers, parents, and fans. North Central Baseball would like to thank all the volunteers from the Texas Cutters, Cooke County Lions, Cooke County All-Stars, and Lion parents for doing the cooking. Overall, it was a great day to have fun and play baseball. North Central Baseball will be doing another clinic day and if you are interested in signing up, contact Scott Harp at 940-668-4285.

Click here to view more pics: MORE...

North Central had five players play in the TX/NM JUCO All-Star Game at Baylor University this past weekend. Garrett Harris, Kyle Felts, Daniel Sciantarelli, Jake Arrington, and Brett Abell were all selected based on their freshman performance. The event is attended by over 50 scouts from four-year universities and Major League Baseball teams. The Lions did well in the game with their team winning both games that were played.

North Central finished their season on Monday at LaGrave Field home of the Ft. Worth Cats in the Regional Tournament. The year brought a lot of success both on and off the field.

MORE...

North Central had seven sophomores sign early with four-year universities in November. Sammy Rivas (p) signed with St. Mary's. Bryant Lopez and Jesse Payne both (inf) will play together at the University of Texas at Arlington. Zach Ragsdale (of) will be playing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ryan Morgan (c) is going to Texas Tech. Payden Bravenec (p) will head west to play at San Angelo. Nick Ochoa will be in Lubbock next year at Lubbock Christian University.