The 16U National Team Championships Arizona kicked off on Sunday morning, and much like the sun beaming down at Peoria Stadium at the crack of dawn, Nathan Hunter started the day off red-hot with the bat.
The OC Premier Navy third baseman was pretty much perfect at the plate during his team's first two games of the tournament, reaching base in every one of his at-bats throughout the morning. Hunter's day kicked off right from his very first plate appearance in the team's opening game, when he roped a double right down the left-field line and later scored its third run of the first frame directly after. He followed this up with another two-bagger two innings later, and a hit-by-pitch to get aboard yet again in his last at-bat capped off a very solid opener to the event for him.
Hunter got to show off his plate discipline in the next game, coming back from down 0-2 in the count to work a walk to start things off and then earning a four-pitch free pass in the fourth. Sandwiched in between those was yet another double, a line-drive gapper into right-center into that put the young righty's line for the day at a very impressive 3-3 with six times on base total.
Even despite his excellent showing, the most important part of the day for Hunter was the fact that him and his OC Premier Navy squad walked away with two victories -- 7-1 over the Santa Clarita Pack and 6-2 over the West Coast Blackdogs -- that put them in great position moving forward. Now sitting at 2-0, the team likely only needs one more positive result to advance into the playoff bracket on Wednesday, and it will have two more opportunites to accomplish that over the next few days.
After the team's second game concluded, Hunter spoke with USA Baseball about notching the two early wins and how he was able to hit the ground running so easily right away:
Q: It was a big day for you at the plate, you had three doubles and were on base every time you were at bat. What were you feeling out there today?
A: I felt great. I played a long week last week and felt like I really dialed it in there and then again today. I really felt good.
Q: When you're going good at the plate like that, what does it feel like when you're standing in the box? And do you know coming in to the game when you're feeling it with your swings?
A: Yeah, especially once you get started early. My first at-bat of the day, I put one right down the line and hit it pretty hard, and it kind of just boosted my confidence all day. I felt like I was seeing the ball great, and I just kept swinging hard. It felt good.
Q: Most importantly, you guys picked up two wins today in your first two games. How good is it to get those ones out of the way on the first day of the tournament?
A: It feels great. It's a great start, because now all we have to do is win one more to get into playoffs. Both our pitchers did great today, and we have a bunch of other arms ready too, so it's just good to ride the 2-0 streak in the first day.
Q: You mentioned playoffs and being one win away. I know it's still early, but how are you feeling about your guys' chances there if you do manage to make the bracket?
A: We're feeling great. We've got a good team with some solid arms and some good bats, so I feel like we can make it pretty far there.
