2018’s: Bombers have some of the best (3/5)
2018’s: Bombers have some of the best (3/5)
Now that we have the initial FAB 50 Club Rankings posted, it’s time to turn our attention to getting the next round of Hot 100 ratings up!
That would be the freshman class and the plan is to begin our countdown in about 10-14 days. We’ve already profiled many elite players and continue looking at some organizations that have elite 2018’s.
One of those is the Texas Bombers led by Scott Smith, which, as we’ll detail Friday in our Recruiting Notes, not only is in Texas and Louisiana, but is moving into a new state!
The organization is one of the biggest in the country in terms of number of players so it’s not surprising that some of the best wear the Bombers’ colors. Here are ones we think have a great chance to make the 2018 Hot 100 list… comments are from Coach Smith:
— P Brooke Vestal (Texas Bombers Gold 18U, Oklahoma)
“Brooke is the type of player that I really only think comes around every 10 years or so. She is built the way you would build the perfect pitcher if you started from scratch: tall with long levers, strong and ultra competitive nature and – probably her most important quality – intelligence and the ability to be coached.”
“Brooke truly is just scratching the surface when it comes to her talent and what she is capable of accomplishing. She is a true ‘swing and miss’ pitcher as her stuff is electric and her toughness and the desire to never back down makes her an absolute nightmare on the mound for opposing hitters.”
“Last year as an 8th grader we moved Brooke up onto our 18U Gold team and threw her to the wolves against some of the toughest teams in the country. She not only did well, she dominated nearly every time on the mound! I knew then that she was going to be one of the best in the country.”
“The scary thing about Brooke is that she works incredibly hard at her craft and is continuing to develop as a pitcher adding more pitches to her arsenal and helping herself become even better than she already is.”
“Brooke also conducts herself in a manner well above her age. She personally created a unique way to raise money for the families of soldiers who have been killed in action. She created a fundraiser based on her strikeouts and at the end of the season will donate those monies to the families of the lost heroes.”
“She absolutely is what’s great about this sport and we are extremely proud of her that she wears a Texas Bomber Uniform!”
Video of Brooke from last summer at PGF Nationals:
— P/OF Makinzy Herzog (Texas Bombers Gold 16U, Florida State)
Coach’s Comments: “Makinzy is an amazing softball player! She is a left-handed hitter that has plus power and amazing speed. She can hit the ball out of the park just as easily as she can drop a bunt and beat it out.”
“She is an absolute threat to steal a base every time she is on base. What makes Makinzy even more special is she is an amazing pitcher as well. She is absolutely one of the top 2018 pitchers in Texas.”
“I compare her to one of the best all-around players to ever come out of the state, Kristen Shortridge formally of LSU, who had the ability to slap the ball with precision, drop a bunt down and then in her next at-bat swing and hit it out of the ballpark. Then she could come in running out of centerfield and strike out the side with the bases loaded!”
“That is exactly the type of player Makinzy is, a force all over the field. Her speed separates her from her peers and is the thing that allows her to take over a game at will.”
Video of Makinzy shot last summer at PGF Nationals:
— 1B/C Georgia Clark (Texas Bombers Gold 16U, LSU)
“Georgia is a power hitter in the truest sense. Her home runs are big time and they tend to come in bunches.”
“But at the same time she has the ability to hit for average and help her team in many ways. She is extremely intelligent and is the type of player who makes the players around her better.”
“At the plate she has the ability to really slow the game down and quiet herself to hit well above a player of her age. We look for Georgia to provide huge power numbers for us this coming summer!”