Braves Joshua Hones, Delivering as Promised
When Gameday photographer Juston Stone went out to Indian River high school that particular day, the original intent was for him to take some pictures of a Southeastern District opponent the Braves were playing; so I was a little more than surprised when he called back with his report about senior Joshua Hones of Indian River.
"Hones is really good," Stone said. "He pitched, he caught, he was the team's best hitter."]
Intrigued by the tip, I followed up with the Braves' head coach David West and he agreed with Stone's assessment and arranged to have Hones get in touch with me.
When I finally had the opportunity to return Hones' call, I couldn't help but notice some very loud music in the background and then erroneously assumed he was just being a typical teenager hanging out at a concert or a party. I asked if it was a bad time and if I should call back.
"No," he said, "I'm at an ODU baseball game."
As he took a minute to get to a quieter location within the Monarch's stadium, I suddenly realized that Hones, 17, delivers as promised. He is a young man that simply loves the game of baseball and has ever since he started playing when he was eight years old. When he is not studying college games or playing for the Braves during the official spring season, he participates in the team's summer and fall leagues.
It becomes quickly evident that Hones' world revolves around the sport and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Baseball's an escape basically," he says. "I forget everything that's going on: school work, pressure, college stuff."
As Stone had witnessed and Coach West had confirmed, Hones provides Indian River power from the clean-up spot and alternates his time defensively on the mound pitching and behind the plate catching.
"I feel like I'm more in control of the game when I'm pitching," Hones says. When pitching, he currently throws a curve, circle-change, and a fastball that has been clocked near 90 mph. He has also taken what he's learned from the other end of the battery to help himself on the mound. "I know what the batter is looking for from experience as a catcher," he admits.
And while he definitely wants to keep improving and developing his personal game, Hones' main focus is the success of his team. In a very competitive, but very open Southeastern District, Hones believes that if the Braves can work out some of their early season defensive problems, the team is more than capable of making a strong run in the district tournament and beyond.
Not wanting to keep him any longer than I have to, I wish Hones good luck and let him go back to watching the ODU game in his world, his escape. Even though our interaction was brief, from what I gathered I can only imagine that's just the way he likes it.
