Another SA Express MV Story.
Lorne Chan
San Antonio Express-News
CASTROVILLE — Pitcher Zack Dodson’s hat is covered with dirt and grime, but the bill is pressed flat like it’s still on the rack.
His pants are just like everybody else’s, except Dodson pulls the legs up to his knees because he likes the way baseball players looked in the 1920s.
Dodson led Medina Valley to the state tournament, but that doesn’t excuse him from hearing a ton of jokes about his goofy look.
“It’s like he irons his hat before games or something,” catcher Troy Stein said. “He’s a little off.”
He’ll bring his look to Austin when the Panthers (36-2) face Texarkana Pleasant Grove (24-8) in the Class 3A state semifinals at noon today at Disch-Falk Field.
Under Dodson’s strange exterior is a left arm that threw a 92-mph fastball last week and has helped Medina Valley hold the state’s top ranking in 3A since March.
Dodson (13-0) has set a Medina Valley season record for victories. The 6-foot-1 junior has a 0.52 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 81/61/3 innings.
“He’s awesome,” said Baylor sophomore Willie Kempf, a two-time Express-News All-Area player when he played at Medina Valley. “He’s going to have a lot more opportunities than I did coming out of high school.”
But what’s the deal with the hat?
“I like being original,” Dodson said. “If you’re going to be something, you might as well be 8yourself.”
Medina Valley coach Carl Keller attributes Dodson’s antics to being “a lefty, and everything that comes with it.”
A few of the other quirks:
Look for Dodson to circle the mound before every pitch.
He and second baseman Cameron Payne have to take the same seat on every bus trip with the same music playlist that starts up 20 minutes before arrival.
And the night before a game, the team gets dinner together — everyone except Dodson.
“There was one time I had a bad inning and gave up a few hits,” Dodson said. “And someone told me, ‘It’s because you didn’t pick your nose that inning.’.”
Dodson isn’t the only one who’s been a little superstitious with the way Medina Valley’s been winning.
The team has used a motto of “June 7th” all season, even though players realized two months ago that the 3A state championship game is actually played on June 5. They were still yelling “June 7th” on Monday.
“The softball team tried to correct us,” Payne said. “But we got so used to how ‘June 7th’ sounds.”
No need to mess with a good thing, considering how well the Panthers are playing. Medina Valley, which has one senior starter — center fielder Clinton Bippert — began the season with an 18-game winning streak and was 8-0 in District 27-3A.
The Panthers are batting .371 as a team, and every starter has an average of at least .302.
While Dodson is the ace, No. 2 pitcher Isaac Tijerina (8-1) and No. 3 Weston Heiligman (8-1) are having strong seasons.
That may come in handy because Dodson said he’s unsure if he’ll be ready to start today.
Dodson, who has been on a 120-pitch count all season, earned both victories in the Panthers’ regional final sweep over Sinton last week, throwing 119 pitches Thursday and 43 on Saturday in Game 2, when the Panthers came back from a 7-0 deficit in the seventh inning to win 10-7 in eight innings.
Keller will make sure the only thing flat on the mound is Dodson’s cap.
“Zack’s our shutdown guy,” Keller said. “Who knows where we are without him?
“It’s not the hat that won all those games, but the hat’s part of Zack.”
UIL STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
At a glance
When: Today-Saturday
Where: Disch-Falk Field in Austin; Dell Diamond in Round Rock
Tickets: Students, $5; adults, $10; all-tournament pass, $30
3A schedule
Today’s semifinals: (At Disch-Falk) Medina Valley (36-2) vs. Texarkana Pleasant Grove (24-8), noon; Snyder (33-6) vs. Hutto (27-7), 3 p.m.
Thursday’s championship: (At Disch-Falk) Noon
ZACK DODSON FILE
Team: Medina Valley
Grade: Junior
Position: Left-handed pitcher
Stats: 13-0 with 0.52 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 81/61/3 innings pitched. ..... Batting .409 with 51 RBIs and seven home runs.
lchan@express-news.net
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