I have to say that the title of this thread is a little misleading by asking the question if Castleman is the “runaway” choice. He is by no way a runaway choice. Both of these players have had great stats all year and have bright futures. Castleman has great hitting stats as mentioned. AJ Hackers hitting stats may not be as fruitful has Castlemans but they are also very good. What separates Hacker to be the favorite is that along with the hitting stats is he pitching. He has been one of the top pitchers in the state for two year.
Hitting:
Batting Average: .446
Home runs: #15 with 9, according to KHSSA
RBI’s. #18 with 49
Slugging % #21 with .828
Walks: #12 with 30
Pitching:
ERA: #4 with 0.60
Strikeouts: #3 with 120 (lead the state in 2018)
Wins: 10 with a 10-1 record
Innings Pitched: #6 with 69
Castleman had a great first game in the tournament but Hacker was even bigger. CG, 2hits, 9k’s 0 BB’s, 0 runs and was 1-3 with 4 rbis and a shot off the top of the right field netting at Morehead State that was the difference in the game. This was Hackers 6th straight shut out.