Earning an all-state selection in his first year as a starter, Lakeside catcher Zac Melugin has been a consistent performer for the Rams since taking over for Erick Aguirre last year.
After batting .429 with a team-high 23 RBIs as a junior, Melugin has recorded 25 hits and 17 RBIs in 19 games this season. The senior took another step Wednesday toward joining Aguirre, now at Arkansas Baptist, among the ranks of great Lakeside backstops.
Melugin signed a national letter of intent to play baseball for Mineral Area College, joining classmate Remy Bilodeau with Southern Arkansas University as the second Ram to sign a commitment this season.
"I have a buddy that went up there on a visit, and they told him that they needed a catcher, and that's when I got in contact with them," Melugin said. "I called their coach, went up there on a visit and he told me that they would love to have me.
"I was on campus for probably an hour and got introduced to baseball players. With all the players and coaches that I talked to, it was just a good environment that I liked."
Despite playing baseball since a young age, Melugin did not consider the possibility of playing at the next level until his breakout junior season.
"I got more playing time last year, and it was just all clicking for me," he said. "That was when I thought that there might be a chance of me playing after high school."
In addition to his abilities as a run producer at the plate, Melugin has provided a steady presence behind the plate. The Rams have seven pitchers with double-digit strikeouts and boast a team ERA of 2.22 with Melugin as the primary catcher.
In spite of his .438 batting average through 57 at-bats, the senior believes he can be even better at the plate moving forward, declaring that as one of his primary goals for the next level.
"I feel like my catching right now is the best it's ever been, but my hitting has fallen off a little bit," said Melugin. "I'm going to have to stay on top of that and make sure that I continue to swing a hot bat. There's going to be a lot of good players there, so I'm going to have to fight for a job."
Reaching the Class 5A tournament in each of the last two seasons and racing to a blistering 20-5 start this season, Melugin has become accustomed to success on the baseball field.
Ranked as the No. 10 team in the state in the most recent Prep Baseball Report Arkansas Power 25, the Rams have a sterling 10-2 record in the 5A/6A-6 blended conference along with non-conference wins over Alma, Bentonville West, Bryant and Sheridan.
Joining a Mineral Area program that has finished .500 or better in each of the last six seasons, Melugin welcomes the challenges that come with heightened expectations.
"I love it; there's nothing better," he said. "The work that you have to put in, I'm used to that with coach (Leighton) Hardin and everything we do here. It's going to be awesome to continue to play with a good team."
Melugin's signing marks the continuation of an impressive legacy under Hardin. The senior joins Aguirre, Bilodeau, Brandon Hall, Kyle Lightsey, Race Tittle, Carter West and Jon Youngblood as the eighth Lakeside player to sign a college letter in Hardin's three seasons at the helm.
"Coach Hardin pushes us; he's really tough on us and he doesn't let anybody slack," said Melugin. "If you start to slack, he's on top of you, and I think he has a lot to do with the reason people are going to play ball after high school."
As his high school career comes to a close over the next few weeks, Melugin was not prepared to establish any long-term goals at Mineral Area, but is ready to let his work ethic do the talking.
"There's going to be other catchers up there that I have to compete with for playing time, so I'm just going to go up there and try my hardest to win a spot."
Sports on 04/27/2018