Lakeside senior Justin Scott will be taking the field in black and orange at Warrior Field in Conway after he signed a letter of intent in a ceremony outside the Lakeside cafeteria Thursday afternoon.
Scott, who plays in the outfield for the Rams, said that his visit to campus solidified his decision to join the Warriors.
"After touring the campus, getting a feel for it and realizing the opportunities, both in baseball and academically, I thought it was the right place for me," he said.
Lakeside head coach Leighton Hardin said that Scott's speed will definitely be a benefit for him next season.
"Justin's a big-time athlete," he said. "He's got 6.7 speed, which is really good for a place like Hendrix. He's stolen 22 bases for us."
Hardin also noted that Scott has a good work ethic.
"He's worked himself and matured into an extremely hard worker," he said. "That's one of the things they wanted to make sure before they got him: Is he going to get up in the mornings and workout with us? That's something Justin has prepared himself for. He's ready to go to that level. 'We're going to have get up at 6 and workout.' That's not going to be anything for him because he's put himself in a spot where he's used to doing that."
Scott leads the team in several categories, sporting 22 stolen bases in his senior campaign. He also has a .403 batting average with a team-leading 28 RBI.
Defensively, Scott has a 0.98 ERA with just seven runs allowed in 14 1/3 innings on the mound with an average of 1.61 strikeouts per inning. He also has 16 put-outs with 55 assists against just six errors for a fielding percentage of .922.
Scott said that he hopes to play for the Warriors next season, and he said that the opportunity is there.
"They said that there's a spot for me if I want it," he said. "Hopefully, if I go up there and work hard, I'll be good to go."
Sports on 05/03/2019