Mack Daddy

There are plenty ways to deliver good news.

In the case of Eastern View’s Brandon Mack and Trevor Funk getting named to the Group-AA All-State team, EVHS baseball coach Danny Nobbs decided to do it over a meal.

“I actually told Brandon’s dad before I told Brandon,” he said. “But then I called the guys and invited them out to eat. We had some good food, I told them the news and they were pretty excited.”

Mack was named first-team All-State after averaging .466 from the batter’s box and driving in 27 RBIs this season and Funk made honorable mention for his work as the Cyclones’ lead-off hitter and his .462 batting average, 28 stolen bases and 30 total runs scored.

“He (Mack) was our set of lungs this season,” Nobbs said. “He brought tenacity and leadership to the team, came to work every day and showed the younger players that hard work really does pay off.”

Mack has covered third base at the varsity level for three years and Nobbs said he hasn’t disappointed.

“He is solid defensively,” the coach of Eastern View’s inaugural team said. “He makes plays that I doubt very many high school third basemen could make and I have a feeling that he’s going to contribute right away at the next level because of that.”

The Chowan-bound senior has been clutch from the batter’s box as well. In fact, he hit the first home run of his high school career while the Cyclones were trailing Chancellor in the Battlefield District Tournament championship game. The Cyclones went on to win the game.

Mack’s honor hasn’t gone unnoticed. After getting the call from Nobbs, he got a call from the man who will be coaching him in college, Chowan head coach Aaron Carroll.

“That says a lot about the school,” Mack’s father James said. “The fact they knew so early says a lot about their interest in Brandon.”

Nobbs has coached Mack since his eighth-grade year and seen how his clean-up hitter has grown.

“Brandon has always been a class act but he was a little timid from the field as an eighth-grader,” Nobbs said. “But between his ninth and tenth grade years, his arm really shot up and that’s what sets him apart. You want your third baseman to have the second strongest arm on the field. The only arm stronger should be the shortstop.”

If it’s a strong-armed shortstop coaches are looking for then they don’t need to look any further than Funk who can hit the mid-eighties while shooting the ball across the diamond, according to Nobbs.

“He (Funk) has great baseball knowledge,” Nobbs said. “He really wants to win and will do whatever his team needs.”

Funk — a senior heading to Alderson-Broaddus College — also started on varsity for three years after a difficult start to his career.

“We actually cut Trevor from the JV team his freshman year because he was a little behind other guys defensively,” Nobbs said. “But we let the top guys be managers if they get cut and that year we lost a kid because of grades half way through the season and Trevor stepped in and ended up leading the team.”

Funk was no stranger to the base paths this season and he was so good at stealing bases Nobbs had a special play designed just for him.

“We set up a delayed steal if catchers were being a little lazy throwing the ball back to the pitcher,” he said. “Trevor is one of the best high school base runners I’ve ever seen. He even wanted to steal home a couple times this year but I wouldn’t let him even though he probably has the ability to do it.”

Cyclones’ stats

Brandon Mack » .466 batting average, 27 RBIs, three triples and six
doubles.

Trevor Funk » .462
batting average, 28 stolen bases and 30 runs scored.