By CHARLIE HUST
Although arriving from different avenues, two Webster County High School baseball standouts will be joining forces again on the diamond this fall.
WCHS senior Madison Melton, along with 2013 Trojan graduate Brennan Pritchett, signed scholarship pacts last week with Southeastern Illinois Junior College in Harrisburg, IL.
Pritchett, a four-year starter for Webster County, inked with Mid-Continent University in Mayfield last spring. But financial woes plagued the school the past two years, forcing it’s closure last month.
But that didn’t hamper the Clay native’s hopes of one day playing Division I baseball.
“I chose SIC because they are giving me a full-ride (scholarship) which is huge. Plus, I feel like the junior college experience will help me with learning the game of baseball and it will really help me gain more strength and physical maturity,” Pritchett stated.
The speedy 6-foot-1, 175-pound infielder/pitcher played in 17 of 46 varsity games for Mid-Continent this spring, sporting an impressive .409 batting average (18-for-44) including a .571 on-base percentage with five RBI, three stolen bases and six walks. He also contributed on the pitching mound, tossing 16.2 innings with 11 strikeouts and only four walks.
Pritchett hopes to continue his progression at the collegiate at SIU.
“I really feel like the next two years will help me develop, get bigger, better and stronger so I can hopefully move on to a Division I school,” Pritchett concluded.
Madison Melton, concluded his senior baseball season at WCHS on Monday in the first round of the Sixth District Tournament. The Trojans fell to Union County 14-3.
He will not turn his sights on continuing a life-long dream of also playing baseball in college. And he feels the junior college route is the perfect road to continue his development and focus on pitching only at the next level.
“I’m very blessed to have a chance to play at Southeastern Illinois. First and foremost is to begin the process of earning a very good education and degree, then concentrate on my baseball skills,” the 18-year-old Trojan senior stated. “SIC is a very good school and their baseball program is on the way back of being a very good program each year under Coach Irlbeck. I can hardly wait to be part of such a great tradition.”
SIC plays in the nine-school Great Rivers Athletic Conference (GRAC), a Division I National Junior College Athletic Association conference which is tradition-rich in sending baseball talent on to DI and DII schools. The tradition-rich baseball program has struggled the past few seasons but have a new coach and the future seems to be on the rise. The Falcons will certainly be looking for help during the 2014-15 season as they finished last in the GRAC this spring with a 3-21 conference record and 17-30 overall.