BRYAN, Texas — For the first time since since March 11th, Lamar's Chase Kemp was able to play in a live baseball game, and he did not disappoint.....
The Nederland native is among 70 players participating in the College Baseball Invitational in Bryan.
Playing in front of a national audience on ESPN2, Kemp went three for four, with two doubles and five runs batted in.
Lamar Head Coach Will Davis was impressed with his performance.
"Yeah I think everybody is itching for some baseball. And I think I would've probably watched regardless, but it was great to have one of your own guys in there. And probably, I don't know if they gave out an awards or anything, but if there was an MVP it definitely would've been chase.
Kemp was primed for a big junior year after a breakout season in the Texas Collegiate League last summer.
"He's coming off the MVP of the Texas Collegiate League last summer and you know I just think he really was primed to just have a really good year. You know he didn't have a great batting average, but I think that was certainly coming. But he did have like a .417 On base percentage which was really good. I kind of just learned that about chase. He's got the ability to get on base and to slug, and hit for some power. But even when he's not necessarily going great and hitting for power, he's still getting on base. So he's always bringing something to the team. Even if he's not doing what he did last night, which he's also capable of doing. When he's doing that, he's going to be unstoppable. It's bittersweet obviously in a way, but I guess everybody is going through it. We're just really excited to see what he can do next year."
Now the question is where Kemp should hit in the lineup next season.
"You know sitting around, having all this time to think, I've actually debated if we should put him in the two-hole next year because I think he's really good at getting on base at close to a five hundred clip. He hit .222 This year, I think he'll hit closer to .300 Next year and if he's hitting .222 With a .417 On base, I think he has a very good chance next year at being over .300 With close to a .500 On base. So then it's just trying to figure out where to hit him in the order to help maximize our team the best.
