HS baseball notes: West Meck’s Isaac Garcia leads North Carolina in batting average

The West Mecklenburg Hawks have found their hidden gem in senior Isaac Garcia, who is batting .714 in his first season of high school baseball.

“Issac is a big soccer guy,” West Meck coach Ramon Allen said. “He played in a league back home with his family, but he hasn’t played at the high school level before.”

Garcia grew up playing baseball in Guanajuato, Mexico, with family members in a league against players with wide-ranging ages.

“I played with people that were older than me,” Garcia said. “They might be 25 or 30 (years old). I have played with them since I was a little kid.”

It wasn’t until recently that Garcia understood how well he was truly hitting the baseball. He was just going up there and doing what he had been practicing to do.

“I didn’t know until my brother told me,” Garcia said. “After I found that out, it made me more confident and very happy.”

Allen, the West Meck coach, praised Garcia’s leadership skills.

“He leads by example,” Allen explained. “He is a great centerfielder. He tracks baseballs well. More importantly, he is a better teammate. Naturally all of the guys will gravitate towards one of the best players on the team, and he is that guy.”

Garcia was recruited by Allen in previous years but the slugger had been focused on playing soccer.

“One thing that I take from soccer is that it helps me run a lot faster,” Garcia said. “As you know, in baseball, it is very important to have speed. Soccer has helped me to keep my body physically strong and have more speed.”

Although soccer is his first love, Garcia’s passion for baseball is growing.

“If I get the chance, I would love to play at an upper level,” Garcia said. “It is something that I would love to do.”

Upcoming games of note

▪ On Tuesday, second-ranked Ardrey Kell faces Olympic, new to The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, at 6 p.m. A victory would be a signature win for either club.

▪ No. 3 Weddington has a home series with Porter Ridge next week. Tuesday’s game starts at 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday’s game is set for 6 p.m.

▪ No. 6 Hickory Ridge faces Cox Mill at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a battle of first- and second-place teams in the Greater Metro 4A conference. Then the Ragin’ Bulls have a quick turnaround before they face the Olympic Trojans at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Results from last week

▪ No. 2 Ardrey Kell went down to Charleston, South Carolina, for an out-of-conference tournament and got a 14-3 win against Philip Simmons.

▪ Providence picked up a 4-3 win against Hopewell in a game in which coach Danny Hignight knew would be one of those “grind-it-out” type games.

▪ Weddington knocked off Cannon School, 4-3, in the Jack Sink Invitational, one of the area’s premiere high school baseball tournaments.

▪ Also in the Jack Sink Invitational, Charlotte Country Day got arguably its best win of the season by edging the Butler Bulldogs, 4-3.