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At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Hurst L.D. Bell catcher Hunter Lockwood might not look like the prototypical power hitter. But, with his quick hands and bat speed, Lockwood has little trouble sending balls to faraway places.
"I might be small in stature, but I've got a big attitude and swing a big stick," Lockwood said.
C Hunter Lockwood, Bell, Sr.: Hit .481 with an area-high 16 home runs, 11 doubles, a triple and 46 RBIs.
INF Skyler Ewing, Arlington, Sr.: Hit .443 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. On the mound, went 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 47 innings.
INF Kevin Cornelius, Weatherford, Sr.: Hit .509 with 59 hits, 55 runs, 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs. Also had 43 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
INF Levi Scott, Burleson, Sr.: Hit .530 with 53 hits, nine doubles, three triples and 10 home runs. As a starter, finished 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.
INF Patrick Quintanilla, Carroll, Sr.: Hit .434 with 11 doubles, one triple and five home runs with 40 RBIs.
OF Brandon Finnegan, Southwest, Sr.: Hit .505 with 10 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs and 50 RBIs. Also went 7-3 with a 1.22 ERA and three shutouts in 51 1/3 innings as team's No. 1 starter.
OF Aaron DeLaPaz, Crowley, Sr.: Hit .492 with seven doubles, two home runs and 21 RBIs. Made one error for a .980 fielding percentage.
OF Cody Thomas, Colleyville Heritage, So.: Hit .444 with 11 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 39 runs scored and 25 RBIs.
P John Curtiss, Carroll, Sr.: Went 7-0 with a 0.91 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. Allowed 11 runs on 38 hits all season.
P Corey Taylor, Kennedale, Sr.: Went 8-0 with a 0.88 ERA and 51 strikeouts. Also hit .362 with six doubles, a triple, three home runs and 22 RBIs.
P Jamie Bittle, Paschal, Sr.: Went 11-0 with a 1.10 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 65 2/3 innings. Held opponents to a .157 batting average against.
C Jean Ramirez, Boswell, Sr.: Hit .354 with 13 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 25 RBIs. Had a .500 on-base percentage and was named District 5-4A MVP.
INF Trooper Reynolds, Weatherford, Jr.: Hit .400 with nine doubles, 10 home runs and 47 RBIs.
INF Jimmy Norris, Kennedale, Sr.: Hit .495 with eight doubles, two triples and a home run. Also drove in 39 runs and stole 41 bases.
INF Layne Covey, Colleyville Heritage, Sr.: Hit .406 with 12 doubles, one triple and 11 home runs. Also had 38 RBIs and 41 runs scored.
INF TeJay Antone, Legacy, Jr.: Hit .426 with eight doubles, a triple and six home runs. Drove in 44 runs, and also went 4-3 on the mound.
OF Hunter Hargrove, Mansfield, So.: Hit .418 with 15 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 38 RBIs. Also scored 31 runs and stole 12 bases.
OF Sean O'Donnell, Aledo, Sr.: Hit .465 with nine doubles, four triples and 24 RBIs.
OF Tyler Eager, FWC, Sr.: Hit .543 with 11 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 56 RBIs. Also had 25 stolen bases.
P Skyler Wheeler, Arlington Heights, Sr.: Went 10-1 with a 1.56 ERA and had 53 strikeouts in 49 innings. Also hit .314 with five doubles, two triples, one home run and 15 RBIs.
P Teddy Stankiewicz, SWC, Jr.: Went 8-3 with a 0.95 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. Also hit .376 with 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 34 RBIs.
P Jacob Stone, Boswell, Sr.: Went 8-1 with a 0.86 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched.
He certainly does. Lockwood finished the regular season with an area-best 16 home runs. In addition to his homers, he had a .481 average (50-of-104), 11 doubles, a triple and 46 RBIs in leading the Blue Raiders to the District 5-5A title.
Defensively, Lockwood had a .977 fielding percentage, and helped guide the pitching staff to a 3.02 ERA.
Lockwood is the Star-Telegram Super Team Player of the Year.
"There's no way I could have thought I'd hit 16 home runs, so it turned out to be a pretty good season," Lockwood said. "And being able to end our season with a district title and making our school's deepest playoff run is something we always dreamed about. It's nice to leave as the best team at Bell."
Lockwood leaves as one of the best players at Bell, too.
Coach Paul Gibson doesn't remember coaching a player with as much power potential as Lockwood. The only player he can compare him to is Ryan Roberts, the former Bell infielder now with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
But Gibson still gives the power edge to Lockwood over Roberts.
"He's got more than anybody I've ever coached," Gibson said. "He's got a strong lower half, and just tremendous, tremendous bat speed. He's a special player and they only come around every so often."
Or, as teammate Brad Adams said, Lockwood is a "machine" at the plate.
"Anything he hits goes a long ways, or the guy who gets in front of the ball is going to get hurt," Adams said.
Now, Lockwood faces a decision whether to play college baseball at Oklahoma or sign a professional contract with the Los Angeles Angels, who drafted him in the 17th round.
"It all depends," Lockwood said. "It's going to come down to if the pro contract is worth more than going to OU."
Regardless of his next step, Lockwood has certainly left his mark at Bell. He played on varsity for four years, and starred on the best team in school history.
He hit an inside-the-park home run in a district-clinching 2-1 victory over Colleyville Heritage on April 22. In fact, Lockwood went deep in the Blue Raiders' final three games of the regular season en route to securing the district title.
"I enjoyed my teammates, and I enjoyed coach Gibson and all the coaches," Lockwood said. "They helped me mature, not only as a baseball player but also as a person."
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