El Campo's Landon Appling attracts attention and earns him respect

El Campo catcher Landon Appling catches a pitch in the dirt during the seventh inning, although the Ricebirds led 10-4. El Campo catcher Landon Appling catches a pitch in the dirt during the seventh inning, although the Ricebirds led 10-4.
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  • By Mike Forman •
  • Originally published April 29, 2010 at 9:47 a.m., updated April 29, 2010 at 9:47 a.m.

Not many batters are intentionally walked with two outs and a 0-2 count.

But very few hitters are as dangerous as El Campo's Landon Appling, who earned the free pass with runners on second and third in the top of the seventh inning of the Ricebirds' 10-4 District 23-4A win over Bay City on Monday night.

"I've never seen that before," said El Campo coach Kerry Brandl. "That's respect for Landon."

Another sign of respect for Appling's ability was the presence of University of Texas assistant coach Tommy Harmon at Arthur Stewart Field.

Appling, who has already been offered a scholarship to the University of Houston, has attracted a lot of attention by hitting .515 with four home runs and 28 RBI and seven stolen bases. He has a 3-2 pitching record with one save and a 1.91 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 49.2 innings.

"He's probably the best all-around athlete that I've ever coached in 18 years," said Brandl, who coached current Oakland Raiders punter Shane Lechler at East Bernard. "He may not be the most well-tuned baseball player, but he is the best athlete mentally and physically. He's mentally tough, he's physically tough, and he's done it all."

Appling earned honorable mention all-state honors by playing running back, defensive back and returning kicks for the El Campo football team. He was recently selected to play in the Texas High School Coaches Association's All-Star Game.

But Appling has no doubt baseball offers him the best chance of success on the college level. He was the Most Outstanding Player on the Advocate's 2009 all-area baseball team as a junior and has helped the Ricebirds earn a playoff berth again this season. "I've just liked it better ever since I was little," Appling said. "Ever since I picked up a baseball, I've liked the sport. Of course, there's my size. I'm a little sawed off, but I can work with it in baseball."

Appling has played catcher and pitched for the Ricebirds, but he's almost certain to play the outfield on the college level because of his speed and arm strength.

"He's done everything we've asked him to do," Brandl said. "He's catching and that's probably not the position he's going to go to college to play. He never asks a question. He's never second-guessed. He's pitching, he's pitching in relief. He's starting, he's doing everything we ask. He's truly become our team leader."

The intentional walk to Appling was a no-brainer for Bay City pitching coach Bink Grimes.

"My main goal is to pitch to him with the bases empty," Grimes said. "That means the guys in front of him are going to get better pitches to hit. I try not to let him beat me and make someone else in the lineup be the hurry."

Grimes has seen Appling beat the Blackcats a number of times, and expects him to be even better player in college.

"The thing about Appling is we don't see the entire player he can be at the high school level," Grimes said. "He will add 80 to 100 points to his batting average because he will be able to bunt for base hits in college. And, with his speed, he doesn't have to be a great bunter to get hits. Kerry can't bunt him because he has to drive in runs."

Harmon watched Appling go 1-for-4 and play flawlessly at catcher. He left before Appling was intentionally walked.

"I went to Austin and talked to coach (Augie) Garrido and he told me don't be nervous when we come to watch you play," Appling said. "When we come, we don't want to see you hit. We want to see how you act on the field."

Brandl couldn't be more pleased with the way Appling has carried himself this season and will be sorry to see him leave.

"He's done the exact same thing every night out there," Brandl said. "He's not going to change his ballgame and put us in any jeopardy. He did exactly what he was supposed to do."

NOTES

RICEBIRDS ROLL: El Campo improved to 16-8 and 6-5 in district. The Ricebirds will finish third unless Rosenberg Terry defeated Lamar Consolidated on Monday night and El Campo beats Lamar Consolidated on Friday.

HIT PARADE: Holden Whitley went 4-for-4 with a double, scored two runs and drove in one. Michael Van Gorp had two hits and two RBI. The Ricebirds had 10 hits.

RELIEF: Whitley also got the win by pitching 6.1 innings in relief. He gave up three hits, one earned run and had four strikeouts.

DEFENSE: El Campo second baseman Tanner Howard made two outstanding stops on ground balls and threw the Bay City runners out.

MISCUES: Bay City committed seven errors and dropped to 13-12 and finished district at 4-8. The Blackcats qualified for the playoffs as the fourth seed. They are the only Bay City boys team to make the playoffs this season.

DISTRICT 23-4A

El Campo 10, Bay City 4

El Campo 204 010 3 - 10 10 1

Bay City 200 010 1 - 4 7 7

Slade Schuirring, Holden Whitley (1) and Landon Appling. Daniel Green, A.J. Flores and Mando Hasette. W: Whitley. L: Flores. Highlights: (EC) Whitley 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 4



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