Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week: Mars Hill Baseball’s Cam Isbell

FLORENCE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — Mars Hill baseball senior Cam Isbell played an integral part in the Panther’s run on the diamond this past season.

Even though they finished the year as the 2A state runner-up, Isbell contributed plenty across the field – both at the plate and on the hill.

“When you hit clean up, you need to produce. And you know he really did produce in our playoff run,” said Mars Hill Baseball Head Coach Josh Willingham. “I think he got, you know, six or seven hits and a bunch of RBI and doubles in that championship series against Ariton and then, you know, did the same thing against Red Bay. So he was an integral part of our success. And when you have guys like him that are kind of your leading hitters, they need to play well for you to go through that.”

“I kind of got in my groove. Whenever I got my groove, I felt like I was a pretty decent hitter and I had a few things I needed to work on and [I] put that into the summer and get better at it,” said Cam Isbell.

After the year that Isbell had at the plate, Willingham thinks that he’s got potential at the collegiate level.

“Well, I think just when you look at his bat speed and his strength and the way the ball comes off the bat, number one, and then, you know, we’ve worked on his approach and we worked on, you know, his playing at the plate, which is important in split with a swing, is there. So you got to get a little stronger and more explosive with more bat speed,” Willingham said.

Getting stronger is a big priority for Isbell right now.

It is baseball off-season, but he’s inching toward the start of football season which means he is hitting the weight room. And all that heavy lifting will only help him once it’s time to hit the diamond again.

“Definitely with weight training and speed, being able to hit the ball like a long way and being able to hit it hard off the bat,” Isbell said. “But also with being able to steal bases, which I’m not a big fan of. I mean, I’m not real fast.”

“Baseball is an explosion sport,” says Willingham. “You got to have some explosiveness, so that’s what we’re working on.”

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