Southern’s Marrero steps into new role
When he patrolled third base, Wilmy Marrero had a close-up look at his pitchers as they labored through a long inning. He could hear the loud, piercing pop of the catcher’s mitt.
And whenever a right-handed hitter pulled a hard line drive, Marrero had to be ready. After all, they call it the hot corner for a reason.
But when Marrero moved to center field, with hundreds of square feet to cover and a long distance from the plate, Marrero actually felt closer to the action.
“I felt like I was more in the game,” said Marrero, now a senior at Southern. “Of course, there’s more ground to cover. But I always thought I was able to do a good job.”
This time around, the Jaguars may need him to do even better.
Friday morning in Houston, Southern begins its 28th season under coach Roger Cador, opening the MLB Urban Invitational against Prairie View — and thanks to the nasty weather, the team has barely had the chance to work simple things like hitting the cutoff man.
The outfielders have spent much of the time in the batting cages underneath Harding Boulevard. While Cador doesn’t know for sure what his lineup will look like, he suspects this much: It won’t be as potent as last year.
Not in the beginning, anyway.
In addition to several role players, the team lost star hitter Frazier Hall, who, as a senior, won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year award for the second straight time.
After going to the Los Angeles Angels in the 16th round of last year’s draft, Hall hit .355 in 62 games at Orem, the organization’s rookie club.
Nowadays, Southern can’t afford to wait for the three-run homer.
“As a team, we’re going to have to hit the ball collectively,” assistant coach Fernando Puebla said. “We don’t have a guy who’s going to hit .400 and hit 10 home runs. But we’ve got a bunch of guys that can do the job.”
That includes Marrero, who shared the team lead with nine home runs last season, in addition to hitting .357 with 14 doubles and 50 RBIs.
Other veterans excelled at doing whatever Southern needed, including outfielder Taylor Roy, who practically wished his way to first base (he was hit by 14 pitches, drew 32 walks and ranked second in the SWAC with a .490 on-base percentage), and second baseman DeMario Ellis, who batted .313 and made several key hits as the No. 9 hitter last season.
Cador said he is excited about a few other newcomers, as well. First baseman Derrick Hopkins hit .358 two years ago at UNC-Asheville and sat out last season after transferring. But Hopkins might get pressed for playing time by Elliot “Ness” Jones, a stocky freshman from Shreveport who has a free-and-easy left-handed swing.
Cameron McGriff, who took Marrero’s place at third, hit a pedestrian .252 in 34 games, but also ranked second on the team with seven sacrifice flies. His 23 runs were the most by any player who started fewer than 30 games.
“Until I’m able to see more, it’s hard to determine what you’ve got (in a lineup),” Cador said. “I have to just see more, and we haven’t had that chance to do it.”
In the meantime, Southern has asked Marrero to take on more of a leadership role — something the senior said he hasn’t done since he was a high school senior in Pasadena, Texas.
Puebla said Marrero’s been exceptional at making sure teammates show up to practice on time, sneak in a little extra work without the coaches, and perhaps most importantly, do all the little things that lead to extra runs.
Marrero should know. In a game last year against Prairie View — the same team Southern plays Friday — Marrero stole home.
“We’re going to expect everybody to know their role, know their job (and) to come through when we need them to,” Marrero said. “If it’s a bunt, lay down a bunt and move them over.”
Hey, whatever works.