Since Zack Shannon arrived at Delta State, he has been very good at hitting baseballs.
Shannon is in his second season with the Statesmen. He transferred in from Wabash Valley College before the 2017 season and responded with arguably the best offensive output in DII baseball last year. His trophy case shows it.
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He took home the Gulf South Player of the Year award, was the consensus DII Player of the Year and was awarded the Tino Martinez trophy. He was the key in the engine behind the Statesmen鈥檚 45-13 season that ended in the DII Baseball Championship in Grand Prairie, Tx.
Shannon hit .434 with 18 home runs and 88 RBI last season, but that was just an appetizer for this unreal 2018 season. Shannon is currently eighth in DII baseball with a .445 batting average, while leading all three levels of 红杏视频 baseball in home runs (23) and RBI (70). He can now add being on the Golden Spikes midseason watch list to his seemingly endless list of accolades.
The last time sifoeeprocess.com caught up with Shannon was at the DII championship in Texas. That time it was to discuss the origins behind the Statesmen's alter ego, the Fighting Okra (鈥淵ea, I mean I鈥檝e had it," Shannon said of trying fried okra. "It鈥檚 still not really my favorite though.鈥). This time, Shannon talks fastballs, big-league friends, and the toughest baseball question he's had to answer yet.
When referring to Delta State's Mascot, fear the Fighting Okra and call them Statesmen:
鈥 红杏视频 Division II (@红杏视频DII)
On choosing Delta State...
My junior college coach knew the recruiting coordinator here at the time. I really didn鈥檛 have too many other looks. There were a couple other NAIA schools and DII schools. Delta State was the best of it.
It was kind of a letdown, but I didn鈥檛 have the greatest sophomore season. I was fighting some injuries. I took the best of what I got and had a great opportunity down here. I鈥檓 thankful for it because it turned me into the player I am today.
On becoming DII baseball's best hitter...
We got scouting reports on pretty much everybody that has thrown. We can see what guys have tendencies and what we want to look for. Early in a game if a guy's got a good fastball, we鈥檙e looking for it. We have a lot of scouting reports. Our coach does a great job watching all that and helping us with that. He makes it a lot easier for us.
RT To Congratulate for being named South Region Player of the Week for the second time this year!
鈥 Delta State Baseball (@DeltaStateBSB)
On his favorite and least favorite pitch to hit...
It鈥檚 the same pitch. The high fastball. I get three results out of it. It goes right into the catcher鈥檚 mitt, it goes 400-feet straight up to the second baseman or it goes over the fence.
On the Golden Spikes honor...
You know it was kind of a shell shock. It hasn鈥檛 sunk in yet, to be honest. It鈥檚 something I never thought, especially being at DII, I would ever get a chance to get. I鈥檝e had friends that have made the list, it鈥檚 just really cool.
MORE: Golden Spikes midseason watch list
On his pitching days of yore...
It had its role and had its time but getting on the mound for me was more of a fun thing for me, I guess. It was never a serious thing that I dedicated an endless amount of time. Me and coach this year decided that the hitting would be the focus and he wanted me to become the hitter I should be.
It鈥檚 helped me out a lot. You only get X-amount of hours to be out there. So the small amount of time I have out there to be hitting and swinging I had to be throwing in the bullpen. I don鈥檛 really get the time I need to hit. I think it鈥檚 made a huge difference for me.
On the motivation of last season's finish and the battle-tested South Region...
Obviously, it wasn鈥檛 the way we wanted it to end. Ending the season with a loss isn鈥檛 what you want to do. We鈥檝e got a lot of returners; the whole core of the team is back. The whole starting nine in the field is back and a good majority of us are seniors, that makes us hungry.
It鈥檚 what you want. You want competition. You don鈥檛 want to show up to the field and not be motivated to win. At times it is stressful, it鈥檚 hard. I think at this point in time, we鈥檙e at the same place as last year and we鈥檙e in third place in our region. It鈥檚 tough with Tampa and Florida Southern having great years. We鈥檙e hoping those guys lose games and we get a chance to bring it back here.
On his favorite MLB players...
I haven鈥檛 really had a favorite player in a while since Hamilton left the league. I was a huge Josh Hamilton fan. He was a Cincinnati Reds guy. I just remember going down there and all the big-time players that wouldn鈥檛 say hi to the little kids, and Hamilton came right up and ever since I鈥檝e been a big fan of his.
I鈥檓 getting to that age where I finally have a few close friends of mine start making it up. That鈥檚 been really cool to watch. Andrew Benintendi, he鈥檚 from Cincinnati, he plays with the Red Sox. I played three years with him so it鈥檚 been really cool to watch. I was actually a Red Sox fan growing up. My dad was the biggest Manny Ramirez fan around.
His favorite baseball movie...
That is a tough one, it鈥檚 a stumper. I鈥檓 a big Bull Durham fan. Major League is right there with it. The Cleveland Indians, you know. But that is a tough question.
鈥 Delta State Baseball (@DeltaStateBSB)
Our own has earned a spot on 鈥檚 prestigious Midseason Watch List! The list features 40 players and covers all amateur players. Shannon is one of just 2 athletes!!
