Mike Epstein Hitting
Rising Stars
2008
Meredith Owen
Age 15
Jackson, MS
Jake,
Hi Jake,
Glancing through old e-mails and saw your name. Thought I'd give you a
quick update on the boys...
Lee - is "raking". Has 7 HR's on his 18u Connie Mack team. Hitting them
all on legitimate college fields. Going to all the good tournaments
around the state and seeing the state's best pitching. Hitting well for
average and rbi as well. Good platform
moving into his junior year next year. In last tournament of the year
this week (AABC State Tournament in Youngstown), went 3-3 in Game 1
today with 2-run HR...Made 2nd team all-area team as a sophomore. HS
team lost in state quarter final to eventual state champs....Had lead
through 5 innings and lost the game late.
Mitch - also "raking". Hit over .500 on his travel team. Grew 6 inches
since January. Still wants to go 5-4 per game....Made Travel League
All-Star team.
Would like to get the boys into Denver next year for a 3-day tune-up
before HS season starts. Let me know what you have available.
Best decision we ever made was to get the boys a solid swing foundation
with you and your dad. Many thanks!!
- Mark
PS - Give "Big Mike" our best.
Kevin Sandberg Named
All-Independent First-Team
June 3, 2008
GREELEY, Colo. - In a vote by the head baseball coaches and sports information directors of Division I Independent baseball teams, Northern Colorado junior Kevin Sandberg was named to the 2008 All-Independent First Team.
Sandberg (Aurora, Colorado) earned First-Team honors as the designated hitter/utility player. He hit .332 on the year, leading the club with 22 doubles and 11 home runs. His 22 doubles ties for third all-time at Northern Colorado and he now has 44 for his career, which is tied for second on the career charts. He also paced the team with 58 RBI and had a slugging percentage of .600, playing in 52 of the team's 54 contests. This is Sandberg's second honor as he was also an honorable mention selection in 2006.
Tankersley's solo homer propels upstart
La.-Lafayette past Florida
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Holly Tankersley (left) hit a solo home run to center field off NCAA wins leader Stacey Nelson in the eighth inning Thursday as Louisiana-Lafayette opened the Women's College World Series with a 3-2 upset of top-seeded Florida.
Tankersley, who hit her 22nd home run of the season, became the first
player to hit a ball into the new 34-foot tall outfield bleachers at
Hall of Fame Stadium. She reached for a pitch tailing away on the
outside part of the plate and drove it into the front row of the stands.
Mike and Jake,
Hardin County HS (Savannah, TN), one of the state's smallest high schools, just completed the most successful season in our 25 year history of fastpitch. We lost 1-0 to Bolton HS, one of the largest high schools in Tennessee. Thanks for the hitting camp to jump-start our season. Four different people hit a total of seven home runs. I know this doesn't sound like many, but most years we have not hit ANY! Rotational hitting is really turning heads around here.
Sincerely,
Chris Roser
Head Coach, Hardin County High School
Savannah,TN
All-American Baseball Team
Congratulations to Hunter on a great season!
Mike's note: Hunter's dad, Doug, is an Epstein Certified Hitting Instructor residing in Jackson, MS. You can contact Doug here: http://www.mikeepsteinhitting.com/areas/south.htm.
Hunter Owen Headlines 2008 All-SCAC Baseball Team
Hunter Owen of Millsaps college was named the league’s offensive player-of-the-year for the second consecutive season in exclusive 2008 all-southern collegiate athletic conference (SCAC) voting by the conference’s head coaches.
Owen, a junior outfielder from Jackson, Miss., hit .388 this season (eighth in the SCAC) and slugged a league-best .756. He led the SCAC in home runs (16 – a single-season school record and the third highest single-season total in league history), runs scored (61), total bases (121), walks (45) and on-base percentage (.546) and finished in the top four in the league in runs batted in (50 – tied for fourth) and stolen bases (23 – third). At the 2008 baseball championships, Owen tied a SCAC tournament record with 12 hits, and finished with a .600 batting average with two doubles, three home runs, seven rbi and 11 runs scored. Owen was a consensus All-America selection last season as well as both the ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA South Region Player-of-The-Year.
Hunter Owen Breaks School Home Run Record
In the conference tournament won by
Millsaps, junior outfielder Hunter Owen tied a SCAC tournament record
with 12 hits. He finished with a .600 batting average with two doubles,
three home runs, seven RBIs and 11 runs scored. His three home runs gave
him 16 for the season –a new Millsaps single-season record (third-most
in SCAC history).
McMurray Slugger Belts Home Runs in 7 Consecutive Games
Although Derek David is not of our students, it is interesting to note how rotational hitting is taking over in all levels of baseball. The remarkable successes being chalked up by these hitters is truly amazing.
We wish Derek continued success; he already has the technique needed to "climb the ladder."
Lubanski - 2007
April 24, 2008
Chris Lubanski is challenging the outer reaches of Rosenblatt Stadium's right field corner
The park might not hold him much longer.
The Omaha Royals right fielder launched a homer into the second tier of the right field bleachers Thursday night - his third such high drive already this season - and the two-run blast capped a second big comeback in a wild 12-11 victory over Nashville before 1,745."I worked in the offseason to get my legs involved more in my swing [with Epstein], and that helps me stay back more, and then you make your every day adjustments," said Lubanski, who has four homers after 17 games after hitting six in 49 games with Omaha last season. "I'm just happy I'm driving the ball right now."
(When you look at the difference between the top and bottom photos of Chris, it should be obvious why he is having the success he is now. -Mike)
Lubanski - 2008
Kevin Sandberg, 6-for-10 with four extra base hits in the two games versus Air Force
April 20, 2008Kevin Sandberg sets school record with 10 RBI
April 15, 2008Sandberg had a day for the ages
Junior Kevin Sandberg tallied a school record 10 RBI in the contest on a school record eight at bats. He also tied the record for hits in a game with six. He ties Joe Bonacquista (1964) and Zach Brockman (2003) for hits in a contest, while several different people had tallied seven at bats with the most recent being Shane Roberts (2004). Sandberg's 10 RBI in the game breaks the old record of eight from Scott Vatter (1993) and Joe Bacarella (1990). He needed only a triple for the cycle as Sandberg notched a single, two doubles and two home runs in the game.
Senior Quinn Salmon launched a walk-off, grand slam over the 20-foot right field wall as the Millsaps College rallied for a 13-10 come-from-behind win on Tuesday night.
Nick Sullivan, a junior left fielder from Pomona HS (Arvada, CO), hit a three-run home run in No. 9 Nebraska's 5-2 victory over visiting Texas Tech.
In his last 10 games, Sullivan is hitting .395 and has driven in 17 runs. Nebraska improved to 23-4-1 overall and 9-1-1 in the Big 12. (National wire services 4/5/08.)
University of Louisiana - Lafayette
As of 4/26/08:
| .459 BA | 68-148 | 8 2B | 18 HR | 3 3B | .919 SLG | 63 RBI |
Holly learned the rotational technique back in 2004 at one of my hitting clinics in Beaumont, TX. Since then, under good rotational hitting tutelage from her college program, she has stayed in the "envelope" and has become one of the most feared hitters in college softball.
Jake: Just wanted to let you know that Taylor had a fabulous weekend at her high school softball tourney. She hit a couple of doubles, a triple, and a homerun. She had 7 or 8 RBI'S. She has been working very hard and has gone from the #7 hitter to the #2 hitter! We are so pleased and thought you might be pleased as well. We praise you every chance we get! We are looking forward to a great softball season! Thanks again, Jake. - Jerry, Sue, and Taylor Williams
(Taylor, 15, went to our hitting camp in Newberry Park, CA last winter.)
March 24
Andrew Bennett (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) has been named the MIAC hitter of the week, the conference office announced today. This is the first week of the honor for baseball this year and includes all games played so far this season.
March 22, 2008 - BOONE, N.C.
David Towarnicky’s two home runs weren’t enough to overcome UNC Greensboro’s three four-run innings in Appalachian State University baseball’s 12-8 loss to UNCG on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Towarnicky’s first-career two homer game came courtesy of a two-run bomb that cleared the visitor’s bullpen in right field in the fourth inning and a solo shot to right that led off the sixth.
Arapahoe HS - Littleton, Colorado
2-3, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs versus Chaparral High School (3-19-08).
Arapahoe HS - Littleton, Colorado (3-13-08)
HR against Monarch High School to right field (a curve ball).
Hi from Sweden!
Sending you a picture of my son Petter, 15 at the time this picture was taken, hitting one of his 4 home runs in a tournament last fall. This one was a Grand Slam! Petter has been a member of the Swedish National Cadet Team three years, and is a junior now. We have studied your DVD's and practiced the steps outlined and have gotten fantastic results, and not just with Petter! The whole team benefits from your methods, and I look forward to seeing them take the field this year as soon as the snow has gone for good.
Thanks for all your help!
Jim Gage
Västerås Baseboll
Västerås, Sweden
Sandberg hits his fourth home run of year
March 14, 2008 Junior first baseman had three RBI with his fourth home run of the year in the top of the first inning....
Kevin is an excellent example of "style versus technique." Although his rear elbow is up as he strides (pre-swing movement), when he begins his swing, his rear elbow slots in close to his body to ensure staying "inside the ball." We are often asked if a hitter should have the back elbow up in the stance and there is no finite answer to this question. ALL hitters have different personal styles (pre-swing movements) which then conform to a universal technique when the swing launches. If the rear elbow doesn't tuck down and in when the swing launches, the back arm will pre-extend outward, resulting in a "casting" motion.
This
is a basic physics principle in action. Translating it into correct
hitting technique, when the rear elbow tucks "down and in," the lead
elbow must work "up and away." Rotational hitting adheres to the
principles of physics - for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction - the ONLY technique that does.Houston Astros organization
Jon played in his first game this spring and hit a home run. He said "he got it all."
Arapahoe HS - Littleton, Colorado
Mike and Jake,
Just a quick update on a pretty auspicious start...in the first game of the spring, in his first 5 at bats against Ralston Valley HS, Justin went 4 for 5 with 3 consecutive home runs. He hit one to right center, one to center and a huge one to left center. Nothing like getting his Junior year off to a fast, confidence-building start, huh? It never would have happened without your patient and outstanding instruction.
Thanks, Rick
Showtime Fastpitch
Mansfield, TX
Jake -
Kevin Sandberg
Hit two home runs in one game versus No. 20 Texas A & M
Texas A&M Rallies To Take
Game Four Of Series
In the last game of a rare four-game
series, No. 20 Texas A&M rallied back to defeat the University of
Northern Colorado baseball team 5-2 for a split in the season opening
series.
From the University of Northern Colorado website (2/24/08):
“In the top of the fifth, Kevin Sandberg led off with a home run that hit the left field light standard about 50 feet high to knot the score at 2-2. Sandberg again hit a solo shot, this time to center field on the first pitch of the inning to give the Bears a 3-2 lead.”
Conference
Baseball
Offensive Player-of-the-Week
(Feb. 11th - Feb. 17th)
Hunter was the SCAC Conference
Player-of-the-Year in 2007.
He went through our 7-Day Hitting Program in 2006.
HUNTER OWEN OF
MILLSAPS COLLEGE, a 6-3, 210-pound junior
outfielder from Jackson, Miss., has been named the SCAC Offensive
Baseball Player-of-the-Week
for games played Monday, February 11 through Sunday, February 17.
Owen
paced
the Millsaps offense in a 2-1 week on the diamond - which included a
victory over No. 5 Emory University - hitting .444 from the plate
(4-for-9) with nine total bases, three walks, two runs scored, three
RBIs, two doubles and a solo home run.
In a 10-0 win over Mississippi College on Thursday, Owen went
2-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs, his third double of the year and
third home run, sending a towering shot over the left centerfield wall.
He also carried a 1.000 slugging percentage on the weekend, while
posting a .583 on-base percentage.
Conference
Baseball
Offensive Player-of-the-Week
(Feb. 2nd - Feb. 10th)
Quinn went through our
7-Day Hitting Program
in 2007.
(Feb. 11th - Feb. 17th)
Hunter was the SCAC Conference
Player-of-the-Year in 2007.
He went through our 7-Day Hitting Program in 2006.
QUINN SALMON OF MILLSAPS COLLEGE, a 6-2,
200-pound senior first baseman from Lafayette, La., has been named the
SCAC Offensive Baseball Player-of-the-Week
for games played Saturday, February 2 through Sunday, February 10.
After backing up
Luke Morrow at first base the previous three seasons and getting his
first chance as a regular starter for the Majors in 2008, Salmon
had a breakout weekend, going a combined 7-for-10 at the plate with 12
RBIs, eight runs scored, three home runs (grand slam) and two doubles to
help lead Millsaps to a three-game weekend sweep at the Wilson/DeMarini
Classic in Jackson.
Salmon picked up his first career home run on Friday in an 18-9
win over LaGrange in odd fashion, chugging around the bases after the
ball stayed in the park to record the rare inside-the-park home run. An
inning later, he added to a monster day with a grand slam over the left
centerfield wall, followed by a pair of RBI-singles to finish the day
4-for-5 from the plate with a total of nine RBIs.