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Parnell Wins National MVP Award

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

Playing for former major-leaguer Chet Lemon's Orlando-based under-12 baseball team, Tampa's Jordan Parnell earned MVP honors at the inaugural National Youth Baseball Championship after recording a 2-0 record and a 3.75 ERA and hitting .545 (6-for-11) with five RBIs and five runs scored during the weeklong tournament in Memphis, Tenn.
Parnell had a pair of doubles and three RBIs in the Juice's 12-1 win against Southeastern Lexington in the final, but his biggest moment of the tournament came the night before. With the Juice trailing, Parnell threw four innings of one-hit ball as the Juice came back to beat the Norwalk (Calif.) Stingrays 5-4.

Lemon said Parnell's performance was something he had come to expect from the youngster.

"He just shut it down," Lemon said. "Once we scored and tied it up, he gave us a chance to win it. He went out and threw the ball extremely well and held them down, but we expected nothing less from Jordan. He's always done a fantastic job for us."

The tournament brought together the champions from eight different youth baseball organizations, with the Juice representing the AAU after winning that national championship late in July in Richmond, Va. Parnell played a key role in that victory, as did teammate Noah Dyals, who is also from Tampa.

"He did a fantastic job at nationals," Lemon said. "He threw in the semi and the championship game for a couple of innings. Both him and Noah did a fantastic job."

Lemon thinks Parnell's success on the mound and at the plate comes in part because of his natural strength, but his competitiveness is what sets him apart from other players his age. Lemon adds that if he continues to develop as he gets older, Parnell could be a very talented player.

"There are some kids you can see they have competitiveness and want the baseball when it means the most, and that's the kind of youngster he is," Lemon said. "He wants to pitch in the big game, he wants to be out there when the game is on the line, and with his size and his strength and the ability to throw the ball like he throws it ... if he keeps developing, he's going to continue to do it."

Bolts Coach Excited For Inaugural Season

Both of the Tampa Bay Bolts junior hockey teams took to the ice for the first time in Rockledge on Sunday, in a scrimmage against the Space Coast Hurricanes ahead of their inaugural seasons in junior B and C level hockey.

Coach Don Kiernan said he was feeling optimistic about both teams' chances for success. The junior B team will play in the new South Division of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League, with the junior C team competing in the Southeast Junior Hockey League. The MJHL season starts Sept. 13, with the Bolts traveling to face the Palm Beach Predators.

"We're ready to go," Kiernan said. "Our guys are pretty excited, and we're excited to start the season off here."

When the junior program was announced, General Manager Neal Nachman said he was looking to make both teams a mix of talent from Canada and more traditional hockey areas and players from the Bay area. Looking at the Bolts' roster, that has been accomplished, with local players like Chance Letson and Barnie Skobis, who played in the Hillsborough County High School League last season, being paired with others like Casey Kelso from Wisconsin and Trevor Wight from Michigan.

Another name on the roster also should be familiar to those who have followed youth hockey in the Bay area. Defenseman Leif Benner, a native of Valrico who last year went to Massachusetts and played for the Salem Ice Dogs in the Empire Junior Hockey League, has come back to play for the Bolts.

Kiernan says he hopes the Bolts will provide a steppingstone Benner and others who have left the area to pursue hockey didn't have in the past, and move people on to the next level of college and pro hockey.

"We've seen a lot of kids in recent years come out of Florida who are talented hockey players," Kiernan said. "And once they become a very talented high school or travel player, they need somewhere else to go.

"I think a lot of the players are seeing that to be a competitive player, you don't have to leave the state. You can still stay in the state of Florida and play the same teams that teams from Massachusetts and the Boston area would play, too."

Those who have come with only travel and high school hockey as previous experience also have had a bit of a culture shock since the Bolts' training camp opened in early August. With a higher level of competition has come a higher level of preparation.

"We've got four or five players on the team that are still in high school," Kiernan said. "That's a big step for a local player coming out of a Florida high school or playing out of a travel team to take the step towards a junior B program, which is one of the highest amateur-level programs, so they've really had a good time and it kind of opened up their eyes to see the game at a higher pace, a little bit more physical players."

With the preparation the team has put in, and the talent they feel they have on the ice, Kiernan is hopeful the team can hit the ground running.

"I think with the players we've got and the support staff we have, I think we're going to be looking pretty good this year," Kiernan said. "The players have been working hard, and we're ready to go."

Keyword: Youth Sports for more news and notes. Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or nmurray@tampatrib.com.

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