Former Hays baseball players (l-r) Brandon Lawrence, Colten Boothe and Jon Gonzales played summer league ball together last season for the Austin Gold Sox. All three former Rebel standouts and members of the 2009 Hays team that blasted 51 home runs and finished the regular season 25-1 signed Division-1 scholarships recently. Lawrence and Boothe will be teammates at the University of Texas-Arlington and Gonzales will continue his career at the University of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. (Photo by Joel San Miguel)
by JASON GORDON
The 2009 Hays baseball team just keeps producing.
Three seniors on a team that hit a total of 51 home runs and finished the regular seasons 25-1 recently signed with Division I universities.
Brandon Lawrence, who played the last two seasons at Blinn College, and Colten Boothe, who played at Temple College, signed with the University of Texas-Arlington.
Jon Gonzales, who played for two years at Temple College, signed with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
“That team was made up of a great group of guys,” Hays head baseball coach Doug Ragsdale said. “Jon, Brandon and Colten had great work ethic on and off the field and they embodied leadership. We won a total of 55 games with them in 2008 and 2009 so you know we had a lot of talent there.”
University of Texas-Arlington assistant coach KJ Hendricks, who recruited both Lawrence and Boothe, agreed.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” Hendricks said. “Not only are they outstanding players but they have great character and that combination makes it unbeatable for us.”
Lawrence led Blinn this season in batting average (.402), runs scored (48), doubles (18), and stolen bases (18) this season.
He was named All-Conference, All-Region and third-team Junior College All-American.
“What Lawrence accomplished at Blinn speaks for itself,” Hendricks said. “He has a chance to do some major things for our program. He obviously also has the ability to play beyond college.”
Gonzales and Boothe helped lead Temple College to the Junior College World Series in 2010.
Boothe hit .700 in the Series before a wrist injury forced him to miss all but five games in the 2011 season.
“I’m very excited to be able to play Division I ball,” Boothe said. “I’m thankful they took me this year after my injury and I look forward to three years of eligibility at UTA.”
Gonzales led the state in home runs at Hays High in 2009 with 17. He hit a total of 14 homers and had 82 runs batted in during his two seasons at Temple.
“I always wanted to play Division I ball,” Gonzales said. “I’m glad someone gave me that opportunity. It’s nice to see so many guys from our 2009 team doing so well. My ultimate goal at Corpus Christi is to try and help us get to the College World Series and to get better so I can pursue my dream of playing in the major leagues.”
Lawrence definitely has major league dreams as well. His Blinn teammate Nick DeSantiago, another member of the talented 2009 Hays team, was drafted in the fifth round by the Atlanta Braves last week.
“At UTA I want to try and mature as a player and work on my skills to make myself a good draft prospect,” Lawrence said. “I was kind of sad I didn’t get drafted this year because I had such a good two years at Blinn, but I think I can become a better hitter with another year to get bigger and stronger. I think it’s great so many Hays players are doing so well. It would be awesome if we were all playing in the majors together one day.”
