Neshoba Central second baseman Ramie Harrison tosses the ball to the shortstop after fielding the ball during the game.

Dakota Boney wasn’t quite playing out of position, but it wasn’t his preferred position.

Usually a third baseman for Southeast Lauderdale, the rising senior got the start at shortstop Tuesday evening when the Tigers hosted Neshoba Central in a summer exhibition game. Southeast Lauderdale dropped the contest 6-3, but Boney flashed his glove several times at short, even making a run-saving, leaping catch in the top of the seventh to keep the score at 6-3.

“I played short (this past season) whenever (Zach) Flaskamp was pitching,” Boney said, explaining that Flaskamp was the starting shortstop on days he wasn’t on the mound. “Just wherever coach plays me.”

While he can do both, Boney said he does prefer the hot corner, as the game doesn’t move quite as fast when he’s fielding third base.

“Honestly, I like third better,” Boney said. “When I’m there, I’m taking ground balls off the grass, while I have to read them off the dirt and throw quicker at short. At third, I have more time.”

Whether it’s at third or short, Boney said he’s grateful for summer league baseball, as it gives him and his teammates a chance to get reps against good competition.

“You get to hit live pitching and get a couple of swings in,” Boney said. “Live pitching is better practice.”

Now that he’s going into his senior year, Boney said summer ball is a good time to start leading his younger teammates.

“It needs to start now,” he said. “We have a few guys who will step up.”

And that’s why Boney has such high expectations for the Tigers next spring.

“We have a couple of players moving in, and our whole infield will be seniors, so we should be able to go deep into the playoffs,” Boney said.

 

NEW FACES FOR NESHOBA

 

After going undefeated in Region 3-5A and making it to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs this past season, Neshoba Central will field a lot of new starters when it returns to action next spring. Summer ball is the perfect time to begin “tryouts,” Rockets head coach Turk Stovall said.

“We graduated seven,” Stovall said. “We have two seniors on the team, three juniors, five sophomores and 12 freshmen, so we have a lot of young guys out there. We’re moving a lot of people around, and summer is when you want to move people around and see what you got and see who’s doing what where. For the most part, that’s what our key focus is, and we’re seeing a lot of good things already.”

While summer ball is always important, knowing he’s going to be fielding a lot of new players next spring makes these exhibition games even more important, Stovall said.

“Especially for this year, it’s crucial for us, because we have several freshmen who played junior high, but this is varsity level,” Stovall said. “We also have some sophomores that haven’t had a lot of experience that are going to be playing next year, so they need these reps. We get to see how they’re going to handle varsity situations, and especially years like this year, it’s crucial.”