Grant Reeves Mead Year: Senior Sport: Baseball Position: 1b/P

Mead baseball coach Dave Vaughn and Mark Reeves were teammates at Whitworth College in the late 1970s.

Now Vaughn and Grant Reeves, Mark’s 17-year-old son, wear the same uniform. “When I saw him as an eighth-grader, he was just a chubby little guy,” Vaughn said of his senior cleanup hitter. “But even then, I really liked his mannerisms.”

Or ill-mannerisms, when it comes to how Reeves treats Greater Spokane League pitchers. In three games last week, he hit four home runs and had 19 runs batted in. Against Central Valley Tuesday, Reeves doubled, walked twice and scored four runs as the Panthers took over first place in the GSL standings.

“I’ve never hit for this much power this early,” said Reeves, who homered just once during last year’s league season.

However, Reeves slammed eight homers playing American Legion ball last summer and recently rediscovered that power by altering his swing to incorporate more of an uppercut.

“It sounds bad, but it’s been working,” Reeves said.

“He’s capable of getting hot like that,” Vaughn said. “He’s a pure hitter who hits the ball consistently.”

Mead, which travels to Rogers today, has won four straight since a 14-13 loss to Gonzaga Prep.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo