of college coaches at All-Star game

By

ADAM DAIGLE

He’s got good power from the left side, good size, a sweet swing and an ACT score that would make Ivy League schools drool.

But David Trisler is adamant about what he wants &045; &uot;I want to play ball at the next level,&uot; he said.

He’s currently taking offers.

The Adams Christian slugger has gotten interest from William Carey College and tried out there, but he has another shot at getting his name out there at 2 p.m. Thursday when he competes in the MPSA All-Star Game at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

Trisler will be one of five players from the Miss-Lou participating in the events. The Class A game will feature Jack Maxwell, Spike Deville and Taylor Fontenot and WCCA and Jacob Bonnette from Huntington.

Yet Trisler, who scored a 30 on his ACT, hopes to have more options to weigh after Thursday’s AA-AAA game if everything goes right.

&uot;They said I could get a full ride with my ACT score and I could play ball there, too,&uot; Trisler said of William Carey. &uot;That’s an option. I hadn’t really talked to Co-Lin. That would be good &045; go somewhere and play and they don’t have to spend an athletic scholarship on me. USM scouted me at the Parklane game earlier in the year.&uot;

Whether or not it happens, at least Trisler has the high ACT score where his parents will have to pay little if any college tuition the next four years. But after the junior and senior seasons he had had with the Rebels and a dominant senior campaign this spring, he’s got hopes that someone somewhere will give him an opportunity to play at the next level.

Coaches from four-year colleges, junior colleges and pro scouts are expected to attend Thursday’s game.

&uot;He and Glenn (Williams) went out there, and I think Carey might want both of them,&uot; Adams Christian head coach Gill Morris said. &uot;With David having a good ACT score, he could probably get a full ride academically. Meridian had showed some interest. With them having it at the (Mississippi) Braves’ stadium, it’ll be a great site for an All-Star game. David will have a chance to show his stuff.&uot;

The numbers he put up his senior season warrant attention from someone, especially in the second half after teams started pitching him differently. While his numbers were down just a bit from his junior season &045; .435 average, 11 homers and 42 RBI as a senior as opposed to .445 average, 10 homers and 51 RBI in 2004 &045; he emerged as the team’s most dangerous hitter in the playoffs.

Trisler smacked three grand slams in a four-game stretch while helping lead the Rebels to the state championship series against Simpson.

&uot;He’s got real good bat speed and such a short stroke,&uot; Morris said. &uot;He really did well adjusting to pitches away from him in the playoffs. The report was pitch him away, and teams had some success doing that midway through the season. That’s how teams worked him, but he made the adjustment.

&uot;We started working with the hands and going opposite field, and it made him a better hitter. No college will pay attention to you if you’re a dead pull hitter. You’ve got to show you can hit the ball the other way.&uot;

Scouts and coaches may be aplenty at the contest Thursday considering the talent on the South squad along with Trisler. The South will have Central Private’s Josh Wall, Hillcrest’s Cody Satterwhite, Jackson Prep’s Kyle Moore and Oak Forest’s Toby Easterly.

&uot;The people I’m going to be playing with are really, really good,&uot; Trisler said. &uot;I think we’re going to have a really good team. I hadn’t heard anything about (coaches and scouts), but I’m sure there will be a lot. It’s the All-Star game.&uot;

The Class A game will follow at 6 p.m. Thursday with the Rams’ Spike Deville in the same spot as Trisler and likely a number of others out there. The senior wants to play at the next level, but he’s yet to find a taker.

Maybe a good showing Thursday may drum up some interest. He’s tried out with Co-Lin and Baton Rouge Community College.

&uot;It went pretty good,&uot; Deville said. &uot;I didn’t do as good as I wanted to, but I guess I was trying too hard. I think this is going to be a good experience. It’s going to be fun to do it. It’s my last high school game, and it’ll be fun to play against a bunch of people I’ve always played against.&uot;

He won’t be alone and will suit up for the South squad along with teammates Fontenot and Maxwell. The South will also have Dustin Iverson and Josh Wells from Amite School Center.

Fontenot led the Rams at the plate with a .559 average.

&uot;When we went through the All-Star selections, I had two hitting in the .550s,&uot; WCCA head coach Ray Olive said. &uot;That was up there with anybody. They had 18 on a team, and my district got five players per district. It worked out well. We’re just excited as we can be about it. I don’t know the last time we had an All-Star in baseball, and now we have three in one year.&uot;

Bonnette will also get the invite after he was solid on the mound and at the plate hitting leadoff for the Hounds. He was a solid starter along with eighth-grader Trey Brasher on the mound in leading the Hounds to the state championship series with an 8-4 record.