After enjoying a solid junior season by hitting .333 with two home runs and 35 RBIs, Junction City’s Jack Smith was poised to have a big senior season.
Mission accomplished.
The Junction City first baseman had an outstanding campaign, leading the Dragons with a .444 average, six home runs, 54 RBIs and 52 hits. He also scored 43 runs.
Thanks to that production, Smith will be attending the AHSCA All-Star Game, which is being held in Conway on Friday.
Smith was originally selected to play in the football game, but switched to baseball.
“It was what I wanted to do,” Smith said. “I always wanted to play in the All-Star baseball game, even though I got selected for the football game, I just always thought it would be cool to go play in the baseball game considering my brother (Hayden) played in the football game. I wanted to play in the baseball game.”
Smith hit third in the Dragons’ lineup, and Charles Hoof, who batted behind him in the cleanup spot, will be a teammate for the East All-Stars.
“It will be fun,” Smith said. “Charles is a really good guy. I really like Charles. He’s a lot of fun to be around. It will be really fun to get to share the field with him one more time.”
Smith said he is looking forward to the festivities.
“It will be fun,” Smith said.
“Just going in the game knowing that I’m playing against the best players from across the state, being a really big competitor, I like things like that, so I’m going to first just take in the environment and have as much fun as possible, and then go out there and compete and try to get some wins.”
Last month, the Dragons won their ninth state title in their storied history, and Smith said he enjoyed the ride.
“It was fun,” Smith said. “Going into the year, we knew that we had the opportunity to win it all. We just had to put the pieces together to get there. It was a lot of fun, just competing against the best teams in the state, finally getting there and getting the job done, especially in my last year.”
With his career nearing completion and having won two state titles in his senior year, Smith said he won’t forget being a part of Junction City’s success both on the gridiron and the baseball diamond.
“Just the environment of Junction City,” Smith said. “It’s got a really rich tradition really in all sports, and the environment is crazy. Everybody’s crazy about sports down there. Just the environment, and I’m really thankful for coach (Joe Paul) Hammett. He was really good to me for four years. I couldn’t be more thankful for him.”