Notre Dame recruit's speed, patience leads Park Tudor baseball to sectional final
Park Tudor shortstop Desmond Francis stands about 5-10 and weighs 175 pounds, but the respect he gets in the batter's box is on par with a more prototypically sized slugger.
The Notre Dame commit's calling card is speed. He gets down the first-base line in 6.4 seconds, an elite time for a prospect his age. When Francis is on first, ending up on third is almost a given, yet pitchers rarely challenge the junior with pitches in the zone. During his first three at-bats of Saturday's sectional semifinal against Covenant Christian, Francis saw just one strike, drawing three walks.
Francis knows he may not see a ball over the plate all game. His strong sense of the strike zone allows him to avoid chasing pitches, and he's content with taking a walk.
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Late in the game, the Panthers put runners on base ahead of Francis, forcing the Warriors to pitch to him and he produced a single in the sixth and a two-run triple in the seventh, helping Park Tudor hold on for a 15-14 win.
Park Tudor (14-9) advances to face University (18-11) for the Class 2A Sectional 42 championship Monday.
"Just understanding the strike zone and knowing what your strike zone is," Francis said of how he stays patient at the plate. "I got a majority curveballs to start off the at bat, even if it was a strike they'd be away or just miss in the dirt.
"Just never getting yourself out and understanding that you're good enough to hit every pitch that is thrown at you."
Francis went 2-for-2 with three walks, four runs scored, three RBIs and one stolen base. Derek Ai, Miles Dubie, M.J. Gaines and Dominic Gasper each added two hits. Santana Jackson hit a two-run single in the sixth.
Francis' strong game raised his batting average to .429. He has a .520 on-base percentage with 20 walks to just eight strikeouts. The future Fighting Irish outfielder has the skillset of a true leadoff hitter, but he serves multiple roles for the Panthers offense.
"I'm proud of him today, because guys who are in his shoes have a tendency to do too much," Park Tudor coach Courtney Whitehead said. "He understands you get your one pitch, if you get your one pitch that at-bat... Early in the game he wasn't trying to force anything. Taking what they were giving him, getting walks, stealing second. Where some guys would lack some discipline."
Every run Francis scored was needed as Covenant Christian mounted multiple comebacks. Park Tudor led 6-1 after two. The Warriors (17-12) scored five in the third, tying the score at 6-6. Park Tudor led 15-9 after six innings. Bryce Eagen hit an RBI single in the seventh. Gabe Unger plated one with a bases-loaded walk, and Weston Laughlin cleared the bases with a three-run triple, cutting the Warriors' deficit to one. With the tying run on second, Dubie entered in relief and induced a fly ball to end the game. Eagen and Laughlin had two hits each. Unger had three RBIs and a run scored.
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