The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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May 2, 2009

Helping MSA

Alba helping MSA’s present, future

By Gary Fauber

OAK HILL — As the baseball program at Mountain State Academy is being built, it helps to have players such as Luis Alba.

“Other than him, there’s two other seniors who play every day,” Falcons coach John Sullivan said. “The younger kids look up to him for sure. And he helps (the coaching staff). When we go out recruiting and the kids see guys like him and our shortstop (Luis Hernandez) and Andrew Bisaha and those guys, it makes those guys want to come when they see guys like that.”

That’s a good help for the future. As for the present, well, Alba is more than doing his part.

The senior infielder is among the team’s top hitters and a big reason why MSA is 13-8 in its second season of existence. Going into Friday’s game against Pathway Christian (Va.), Alba was hitting .483 with a gaudy .800 slugging percentage and .530 on-base percentage.

That gave him an OPS — on-base-plus-slugging, one of the chic new statistics in baseball — of 1.330.

He also led the team with four home runs, seven doubles and 23 runs batted in, and was perfect in seven stolen base attempts.

The season got off to a slow start for Alba, but he got things turned around in a big way. He had one stretch in which he got a hit in 13 straight at-bats. All four of his home runs came during that streak.

The key has been not chasing bad pitches.

“I stood up in my batting stance and got to see the ball pretty good,” Alba said. “I was hitting strikes all the time.”

“He has a lot of success when he’s swinging at strikes,” Sullivan said. “He raised up a little bit, got a little taller and is seeing the baseball a little better. And it’s not just (during the streak). He’s locked in.”

Alba, a Dominican Republic native who moved to the United States in 2003, was introduced to Sullivan when he was playing in a league in Maryland.

“My coach talked to coach Sullivan and they got together and got me and Luis Hernandez and Julio Richardson,” Alba said.

Colleges have taken notice of Alba’s ability. He has visited Cedarville (Ohio) University, WVU Tech in Montgomery and Germantown (Md.) Community College.

Alba went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base in the Falcons’ 13-3 win Friday. He also scored two runs as MSA won its fourth consecutive game.

The Falcons host a doubleheader at 3 p.m. today against Oak Hill Academy at Oak Hill High School. The public is invited to a cookout that will be held by Stotesburty Community Church between games.

— E-mail:

gfauber@register-herald.com

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