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Mustangs add local arm for playoff push
Justin Hall, a Bassett alumnus and three-year member of Martinsville’s American Legion Post 42, has signed to pitch with the Martinsville Mustangs.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
By ANDREW STEVENS - Bulletin Sports Writer
With the Coastal Plain League’s Petitt Cup Playoffs set to begin in just 11 days, the Martinsville Mustangs have made some roster additions as they draw closer to securing a playoff berth.
The Mustangs (24-22) have added four pitchers and a first baseman, with three of those five players being no strangers to Martinsville or Hooker Field.
Justin Hall, a Bassett High School alumnus, a member of Martinsville’s American Legion Post 42 the past three seasons and a rising sophomore at Mars Hill College (N.C.), has been added in hopes of bolstering the Mustangs bullpen.
Hall posted a 4-3 record and a 5.14 ERA in 16 appearances (10 starts) this spring at Mars Hill. The opportunity to pitch in front of his family and friends while facing some quality competition has Hall ready to get in a Mustangs uniform.
“I’ve been put in tough situations in college and they have prepared me for this,” Hall said. “Some of these guys I’ll be facing play at Division I schools, but I’m ready for it. This has kind of got me pumped up. It means a lot to have local fans and people you know at the games, and more people come to the Mustangs games than they do to Post 42 games. It is going to feel bigger to me.”
Martinsville also signed former Mustang and Patrick Henry Community College product Josh Joseph. In helping guide Patrick Henry to the Virginia Community College System tournament finals this spring, Joseph had a 4.35 ERA and a 6-7 record in 14 appearances and 72 and 1/3 innings of work. He also accepted a scholarship this spring to continue his baseball career at Division II Limestone College (S.C.) next year. Joseph had a 3.00 ERA in just three innings with the Mustangs in 2006.
Joining Hall and Joseph in the bullpen will be Johnny Williams, a member of the Mustangs 2006 club, and University of Maryland product Bryan Hoffman.
Williams has been a part of Division II national championship teams the past two seasons at the University of Tampa, and he finished the 2007 season with a 6-1 record and a 5.54 ERA. Last summer for the Mustangs, Williams had a 3-0 record with a 2.17 ERA in nine appearances. A 38th- round draft pick this spring by the Cleveland Indians, Williams will join Tampa teammates Scott Chapman and Paul Cruz, who are already on the Mustangs roster.
“Johnny was coming off some arm problems and the Indians drafted him, and he has been resting his arm all summer,” Mustangs General Manager Doug Gibson said. “The Indians want to see him pitch before they throw some money his way. He’s going to come in and throw 92 or 93 miles an hour out of the bullpen, and that’s something we haven’t had all year.”
Hoffman has made one appearance since arriving in Martinsville, and allowed four runs (three earned) in two innings of work.
Helping to replace the departed Jordan Dodson, who left the Mustangs last week, will be University of Arizona product C.J. Ziegler. As a member of the Coastal Plain League’s Asheboro Copperheads in 2006, Ziegler was the only player on the team to play and start in all 50 games. He led Asheboro in batting average at .352, RBIs with 32 and home runs with 13. This spring at Arizona, Ziegler hit .355 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. Ziegler was a 36th-round draft pick this spring by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Dodson left the Mustangs to fly home to Texas last week, and according to Gibson, Dodson said had signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. Chuck Poole, of the Sports Information Department at Rice University, where Dodson is on the baseball team, said the school has no record of Dodson signing with the Padres. Warren Miller, a media relations spokesperson with the Padres, said the team has not signed Dodson.
According to Gibson, Dodson was a day late returning to Martinsville when the team broke for the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game but did not show any signs of discontent when he returned. Gibson also said that since Dodson left the Mustangs and returned home to The Woodlands, Texas, he has not returned the team’s phone calls. Dodson was hitting .375 in 18 games with the Mustangs.
“If Dodson was going to stay at home I don’t know why he came back,” Gibson said. “I’m mind boggled why he left. He wants to get signed and we’ve had Braves and Tigers scouts at some of our recent games. They’re asking about him and he’s not there. Losing Dodson, it may be a blessing to get Ziegler.”
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