Shon Landry
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
The play of the infield is expected to be one of the areas of improvement for McNeese State’s baseball team this season.
The Cowboys open their year Feb. 20 at home against Houston Baptist and head coach Terry Burrows says that there will be a difference.
“We’re definitely going to be a better fielding team in the infield this season,” Burrows said. “Shon (Landry) is our leader at shortstop and he’s going to have some pretty good hands around him.”
The Cowboys committed 112 errors last season and 74 of them were by the infielders. This year Burrows is looking for a fielding percentage somewhere closer to the school record of .974 that was set by the 1994 McNeese team.
While Landry returns at shortstop, newcomer Steve Irvine is expected to open at third base and there are three player battles going on for the starting role at second base and first base.
Letterman Matt Fontenot, junior college transfer Alex Johnson and freshman Jace Peterson are battling it out at second and lettermen Nick Eubanks, Ryan Brauninger and Bryn Thompson are in competition at first base.
A pre-season all-conference selection, Landry is now in his fourth year as a starter for the Cowboys. Among the numerous honors he has received have been a freshman all-American tag as a rookie and an all-SLC pick as a sophomore.
He ranks among the school’s all-time leaders in doubles, triples, runs scored and base hits.
Irvine comes in with a strong arm and solid fielding statistics. He played two seasons at Eastern Oklahoma State College, earning all-conference honors. He was also named a national junior college player of the week and helped his team to a 41-18 record.
Fontenot, a Lake Charles native, is coming back from Tommy John surgery. He was on the team last year but did not play. He prepped at St. Louis High and went on to Bossier Parish Community College.
Johnson transferred from Wharton Junior College where he had a combined .340 batting average and belted 20 home runs in two years and Peterson, a member of the Cowboy football team, prepped at the local Hamilton Christian High where he was all-everything in baseball, football and basketball.
Eubanks, Brauninger and Thompson all saw some action at first base last season although Eubanks had more time at third base. Brauninger only committed one error last season and Thompson only three.
Those three will also share the DH role on the team.
“What I really like about our infield this season is that the players there can play more than one position,” Burrows added.
