Marlborough's McKenzie Named Region XIV South All-Conference team

HOUSTON - With the start of the conference tournament set for this weekend, the Region XIV South Conference has named six San Jacinto College (SJC) baseball players to the All-Conference team. In addition, Head Coach Tom Arrington is the 2010 Region XIV South Conference coach of the year, the second-straight South Conference coach of the year honor for Arrington.

Hitting Inspiration: Lou Pinella

"As a baseball player, you hone your skills from years of practice, hardwork and good coaching. I was fortunate to have had the experience of being coached by Lou Pinella," said DCBA Owner Doug Carroll. "Lou Pinella tought me a lot about the fundamentals of hitting and, as the following article points out, he is still having that same impact on today's young generation of Major League players."

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Marshall law

MAYNARD -Mike Fowler saw the future the first time he saw Mike Marshall.

"We used to go watch him in Little League," says Fowler. "He dominated the hitters. We knew he was special."

Fowler and his buddies were a couple of years older than Marshall. They're all at Maynard High now, Fowler, a standout senior athlete, Marshall the sensational sophomore right-hander who is coming off back-to-back one-hitters (against Tahanto and Bromfield), raising his record to 4-1 and shrinking his ERA to 0.65.

Marshall, a 5-foot-11, 170-pounder, seems to have a fondness for fashioning one-hitters. He tossed one in the season's opener against Ayer. His best outing may have been the 3-1 win over West Boylston, which hadn't lost a regular-season game in more than two years. Marshall struck out a career-high 16, and they play just seven-inning games in Mid-Wach D.

"He stole home in the sixth inning of that game. It gave us a 2-1 lead," says Tigers' coach Jim Stewart.

Marshall also plays a nifty shortstop and can swing the bat. "He's our leading hitter (.440)," says Stewart. "He's a complete baseball kid."

Complete in the sense that Marshall, who also plays football and basketball, manages to make baseball a year-round endeavor.

He's played summer AAU ball in Hudson, Acton and Littleton, will play for the Sudbury American Legion team this summer and gets over to Doug Carroll's Baseball Academy in Framingham where he's worked with Sean O'Connor, a baseball lifer and a scout for the San Francisco Giants.

"He showed me a changeup, and picked up on things I needed to work on," says the soft-spoken Marshall.

Growing up in Maynard, "I tried everything," says Marshall. "Tennis, soccer, football, hockey. But they didn't click like baseball. Starting in seventh grade, it was baseball all year. Spring. Summer. Fall."

As well as he hits, the mound is his comfort zone. "I'm in control with the ball in my hands," he says.

Last summer his AAU team went to a tournament in Georgia where he shut out a Texas team. He also had a "not-so-great" game, all part of the process when facing advanced competition. "I was happy (with the Georgia trip) because I learned a lot," says Marshall.

He began to develop arm power playing catch with his father, John. "We were always in the yard playing long toss. That helped strengthen my arm. When I wanted to throw he never said, 'No.' He pushed me a lot, and I thank him for it. I wouldn't be here now."

Marshall relies almost exclusively on fastballs and curves. "His work ethic as a freshman last year was something we could respect," says Fowler. "He'd do anything for the team."

Stewart, in his third year as varsity boss - the Tigers are 8-0 in league play - coached the seventh/eighth-grade team for which Marshall played. "He dominated," says Stewart. As a freshman, Marshall was 4-2 and hit over .400.

One of Marshall's most impressive games came in defeat, when Hopedale ("They were loaded," says Stewart) beat Marshall, 4-3, in the semifinals of the Division 3 Central tournament last season. Marshall had a dozen strikeouts. "I don't think he's taken baseball off his mind since that Hopedale game," says Stewart. "He didn't stop playing all year."

Marshall on Stewart: "He's always positive. He keeps me in check; never lets me get ahead of myself, or get down."

Mike Marshall ponders all the sports he played as a younger kid, and factors in football and basketball, which he's still playing, but you kind of sense what's coming.

"The best memories I have are with baseball," he says.

And he's only a sophomore.

By Lenny Megliola/Daily News columnist The MetroWest Daily News

(Lenny Megliola's can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
Copyright 2010 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved

RESERVE YOUR SPACE AND REGISTER NOW FOR 2010 SUMMER CLINICS

The Doug Carroll Baseball Academy has announced our Summer 2010 Baseball Skills Clinic schudule. Our indoor/outdoor clinics begin on Tuesday, June 22 and run from 9:00 - 1:00. The clinics will be held at our baseball training facility in Framingham, MA. Spots will fill up fast, so please contact us for more information and to reserve your space.

SESSION 1: Tuesday, June 22nd - Friday, June 25th
SESSION 2: Monday, June 28th - Thursday, July 1st
SESSION 3: Tuesday, July 6th - Friday, July 9th
SESSION 4: Monday, July 12th - Thursday, July 15th
SESSION 5: Monday, July 19th - Thurdsday, July 22nd
SESSION 6: Monday, July 26th - Thursday, July 29th

Reminder, don't miss our special 4-day April School Vacation Clinic, beginning Tuesday, April 20.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The Doug Carroll Baseball Academy is very pleased to announce our new merger with Nokona USA Baseball. We are extremely excited about this newly created relationship and the prospects it brings to further the growth of our Baseball organization.

The Nokona program is well established and has a strong reputation as one of the premier youth travel baseball organizations in New England and the country. Nokona USA Baseball began in the fall of 2005 with a single elite team and now has six elite teams, consisting of players from 20 different towns across two states.

We intend to expand our team base to cover all the age groups (Ages 9-16), with the possibility of having multiple teams at a few age groups. This merger also enables us to expand our recruiting geography to a much larger degree, giving us access to more areas in Massachusetts, in addition to Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley, Needham, Dedham, Marlboro, Framingham, Weston, Brookline, Newton and other towns in our current recruiting base.

Along with the talented Nokona coaching staff we intend to utilize the Framingham facility to broaden our off season player development, expand our coaching staff, adhere to and train to a consistent and structured method of coaching across our entire staff, incorporate a new and dynamic strength training program and provide all of our boys the necessary tools to become better baseball players.

For 2010 tryout information and Registration, please go to the link below:

http://www.nokonausabaseball.com/tryout.htm

If you have any questions and would like to speak with Mike Freire, our Program Director or me regarding this announcement, please do not hesitate to contact or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it us for more details.

In addition, special recognition goes out to Chris Warren and Sahil Bloom who were also named Boston Herald and Boston Globe All Scholastics.

TWO MORE ALUMNI GO PRO

Frieman Drafted in 8th Round

June 11, 2009: Doug Carroll Baseball Alumni Nate Freiman and Chris McKenzie have been drafted by prefessional baseball organizations. Freiman wa drafted in the 8th by San Diego and McKenzie in the 35th rounds by Pittsburg.

Wellesley's Freiman completed his career at Duke as the school's all-time home run leader, with 43 home runs in his college career and 20 this season. Frieman batted .352 on the season, with 63 RBIs, a .703 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .463.

McKenzie, a 6'3" right-handed pitcher, is 2008 graduate of Marian High School and Marlborough resident. Going 4-2 in his rookie season at the Texas College, McKenzie quickly became a pro-prospect.

"Both Nate and Chris have trained with me for years. They worked hard, did very well in college ball and now have the opportunity to show their stuff in the pros," said Doug Carroll. "I could not be prouder of these two guys."

Wellesley's Freiman Breaks Home Run Record At Duke

DURHAM, N.C. - Nate Freiman went 3-for-4 and became Duke's all-time home run leader with his 43rd career home run to back a 7.1-inning start from classmate Andrew Wolcott that led Duke to a 10-4 win over No. 13 Clemson Friday evening at the ACC Tournament.

Freiman crushed the record-breaking homer in his third at bat of the day, sending his ACC-leading 20th long ball of the year over the Blue Monster at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. He just missed hitting another over the 35-foot tall fence when his seventh-inning double hit three feet from the top of the left-center field wall. He was one of two Blue Devils to homer in the game, joining sophomore shortstop Jake Lemmerman, who drove in three runs and was a single short of hitting for the cycle.

McCarthy Bats Season High .471

Receives Local Honors

The reaches of the DCBA extend to the state of Florida, where high school senior Conor McCarthy led the Saint Stephen's Falcons with a .471 batting average for the season. McCarthy also posted five home runs and a whopping twenty-six steals! The following is an excerpt from the Bradenton Herald, which recently named McCarthy to its 2009 All-Area Baseball Team.