Felton’s hard work pays dividends at the plate

MONTICELLO - Monticello's Tanner Felton admires Major League Baseball player Bryce Harper.

He considers the Washington Nationals star one of the hardest working professionals and tries to duplicate his offensive production by putting in the time to refine his own skills.

Felton is posting great numbers again this season, earning one of two Panthers hits in a 3-0 loss to Class 2A fifth-ranked Wilton last night at Dailey Field.

The Monticello senior is following up an all-state performance last year, hitting .477 with 31 hits, including six doubles, three triples and five home runs and 35 RBIs before the loss to Wilton.

'I lift constantly,” said Felton, who watches video of Harper regularly. 'I'm always down here hitting. I'm trying to be a leader. You have to work hard and hardest in the field every day.”

Felton said the plan is to hone his skills at Iowa Central Community College and then play at the NCAA Division I or D-II level. Monticello Coach Josh Soper doesn't doubt his chances to achieve it.

'Tanner has that dream,” Soper said. 'I have no doubt he is going to get there.”

The ability to hit has always been a part of Felton's game, but he has devoted himself to reach higher levels. The idea is to keep improving and working on something every day, which is evident in his .595 on-base percentage.

'He has natural talent,” said Soper, praising Felton for his ability to set up pitchers to get desired pitches. 'He also has the combination with his mind is right and he works hard. He stays focused on the process.”

Felton led off the fifth with a single to center. He shook his head while on first, appearing unsatisfied. Felton said there is no better feeling than swinging the bat and can be a perfectionist at times.

'You can't be perfect,” said Felton, noting he will work on waiting on pitches more. 'You can try to be.”

With all of the accolades and gaudy statistics, there is only one that matters to him. Felton holds a team-first mentality.

'Just RBIs,” Felton said. 'That's all I care about, helping my team win.”

Unfortunately for the Panthers (17-5), they ran into a strong pitching performance by Wilton's Tanner Poor. He struck out 11 and improved his 0.79 earned-run average, throwing a complete game.

The Beavers (14-7) spoiled a solid outing by sophomore Mason Newhard. He allowed just three runs, all coming in the third inning. The Beavers had four hits in a stretch of five batters, opening with a double from Troyal Harris and RBI singles from Aaron Cameron, Tyler Hetzler and Javin Drake.

'We missed some locations on some pitches and they took advantage of it,” Soper said. 'They're the (fifth) ranked team in the state for a reason.”

Monticello has advanced deep into the postseason the past two seasons and face a tough district and substate that could include a game against Wilton with a state berth on the line. The Panthers plan to learn from the loss and build toward success when more is at stake.

'I like our team,” Soper said. 'I think we're going to be there in the end. I told my guys, it would have been nice to get the timely hits tonight, but I'll take them later in July.”

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