Jul. 3—Connor Hallmark and Peyton Cary are kind of like veterans with the Owensboro Post 9 Bombers baseball team.
“They came on at a time when we were starting to play much better baseball, and we were getting more, better athletes from the area,” said Matt Freeman, coach of the Bombers.
The 2021 Bombers were a very good hitting team that had a lot of success.
“They got to see what the leadership was like on that team, they saw the success, and they got to help carry that on,” Freeman said. The Bombers won the 2022 and 2021 American Legion baseball Kentucky state championships.
Hallmark is the lone Owensboro Red Devil with the Bombers this season, and the graduated senior has been a major contributor at the plate. The Red Devils finished 17-11 and won the 9th District championship.
“I’m hitting better than I was in high school, I think I’m just below .500,” Hallmark said. “I’m just seeing the ball really well right now.”
Freeman has enjoyed watching Hallmark grow as a ball player. Hallmark is a second baseman and pitcher for the Bombers.
“He’s really confident. I’ve had him since he was a freshman and he was always a strong competitor,” Freeman said of Hallmark. “He has a lot of good baseball qualities. He’s one of the ones I’ve enjoyed watching over the years. He has physically gotten better, he’s probably 50-60% bigger. He had three triples and a double last weekend. He’s a 100% team guy. He’s another perfect example of you don’t have to be 6-foot-2 and run a 60 (dash) under seven seconds to be a good baseball player.
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Cary is a power pitcher who is left-handed and was a key piece of Muhlenberg County’s 3rd Region runner-up team this spring. Cary, who will be a senior, pitched 62 innings, striking out 91 and walking 35 with a 1.24 ERA for the Mustangs, who finished 22-13.
“He’s got an electric fastball, he’s a real competitor,” Freeman said of Cary, who will be a senior next season and has committed to Morehead State. “He is a dominant pitcher who can spot pitches and he has high velocity with his off speed stuff.”
Cary knows what works best for him on the pitcher’s mound.
“When I’m having success it’s definitely a fast ball-slider combination,” Cary said. “My location has struggled in the past and right now, but my velocity has definitely jumped.”
Both players have enjoyed their time with the Bombers.
“It definitely made me a better ballplayer,” Cary said. “I love the team atmosphere, and the competitiveness.”
Hallmark will be going to Western Kentucky University and concentrating on academics this fall.
“You get to play with a lot of friends, you can also work and play,” Hallmark said. “Winning state was a very fun time. I’ve liked all the memories, the traveling to North Carolina and West Virginia for postseason.”