Page 25 - RVO Diamond Roundup March 2017

RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL REVIEW | SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2017
‘A STRIKEOUT GUY’
Greenbrier pitcher continues to work hard after signing
25VV
BY MARK BUFFALO
Photos by William Harvey
Hunter Milligan has made a big impression on his new baseball coach at Greenbrier High School.
Milligan, a hard-throwing lety senior, is entering his inal high school season as one of the top prospects in the state. He recently signed with the University of Arkansas ater originally committing to Mississippi State University. However, his new coach, Tye Glover, doesn’t worry about that.
“He’s very coachable,” Glover said of Milligan, who is the River Valley & Ozark Edition Baseball Player to Watch this year. “He tries to get better every day. he best way I can describe him is his maturity overall on everything. When you say something to him, he’s listening to you and he respects what you’re doing. He’s trying to do it to the best of his ability. It doesn’t mean he’s going to do it right every time.
“My big thing is he is very mature in the way he handles his business, the way he works, the way he does stuf. He’s not a guy who is cheating reps in the weight room. He’s not a guy who is gooing around in the batting cage whenever I can’t be right there watching him. He’s a leader. He’s a guy who does it with his actions. hose speak a lot louder than words. If they
were all like Hunter, my job would be a lot easier.”
Milligan was last year’s River Valley & Ozark Edition Baseball Player of the Year. He has been playing baseball since he started T-ball when he was 4 years old.
Milligan said his father, J.C., was the irst person to put a bat and ball in his son’s hands.
“I guess I liked it because I excelled at it better than the other sports,” Milligan said. “I like to compete more in baseball than I did basketball or football. I picked it up a lot better than I did basketball and football.”
Milligan played football through
the ninth grade at Greenbrier. He was a member of the Panthers basketball team through his junior season but decided to just stick with baseball this year.
“We’ve been doing a lot more in base- ball ofseason than we have in the past,” he said. “It’s made up for it.”
A year ago, Milligan had a 4-2 record with 69 strikeouts and 16 walks in 42 innings pitched. He had a 1.50 ERA for the Panthers, who advanced to the quarterinals of the Class 5A State Tournament. Milligan also plays irst base when he’s not pitching. Milligan said his fastball tops out at 92 mph.
“I deinitely like to be a strikeout guy,” he said. “hey say ‘don’t throw for strike- outs,’ and I don’t, but I usually get more of them than anything else in high school baseball.”
Glover said he’s had pro scouts coming to the team’s preseason practices, getting a look at Milligan.
“Obviously, he’s already signed with the Razorbacks, but he doesn’t let it afect him,” Glover said. “He’s the irst guy to the weight room at 5:30 in the morning. He doesn’t care about all the attention he is getting. He’s there to work hard, play the game and get better.”
Milligan started getting some looks from college programs when he was in the eighth grade.
“When I was in the ninth grade, I took an unoicial visit to Arkansas,” he said. “When you’re that young, you have to
be on campus for them to talk to you.”
He also went to camps at Ole Miss
and Mississippi State.
“hose were my top three
schools,” he said, referring to the Razorbacks, Rebels and Bulldogs. “I decided to commit to Mississippi State when coach [Butch] hompson, who
is now Auburn’s head coach, was there and coach [Nick} Mingione, who is now Kentucky’s head coach, was there. I really liked Coach hompson. I was questioning what I was going to do then.”
Arkansas then hired former Mississippi State pitching coach Wes Johnson as its pitching coach, and that may have
turned the tide for the Razorbacks
in getting Milligan.
“I really liked him, so I
decided to stay,” Milligan said. “Coach Mingione ended up leav- ing, and Coach Johnson let, so I knew it was time to make a change.”
Milligan started looking at other options when he heard from Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn.
“I went and talked to him, and that is how I ended up at Arkansas,” Milligan said. “I’m ready.
“It all worked out for the best. I know my family is a lot more happy that I’m go- ing to be in state and a lot closer to home. I grew up here. I’ve always been a Razor- backs fan. It all ended up working out.”
Other up-and-coming players in the River Valley & Ozark Edition coverage area
BRADEN QUESINBERRY
CAC MUSTANGS
• .316 BA, 4 doubles, 7-1 pitching, 46 K’s in 47 2/3 innings,
2.06 ERA
JORDAN WICKS
CONWAY WAMPUS CATS
• .412 BA, 10 doubles, 2 HRs, 21 RBIs, 8-2 pitching record, 42 K’s, 52 2/3 innings pitched, 2.79 ERA
JAKE MADDING
DANVILLE LITTLE JOHNS
• .486 BA, 7 HRs,
top pitcher on the staf