Mizzou Recruits

■ Myles Smith: Special Delivery (ESPN Rise)

“I kind of wanted to be away from home to help me grow as a person,” he says. “I figured that if I did get drafted out of college, being in the minors, you’re always on the road. Missouri would help me prepare for that.”

Smith prepped for this year by working out his core and doing resistance training with elastic bands. The result could be seen in this winter’s bullpen sessions, when he hit 95 mph and sat around 92-93 with his four-seam fastball.

“For people I haven’t played with, they’re going to be surprised I’m throwing this hard,” says Smith.

■ Calallen rolls by Alice (Corpus Christ Caller-Times)

Rob Zastryzny has more than met expectations as Calallen’s ace pitcher, evident by the lanky left-hander’s 7-0 record and 0.17 ERA.

The senior’s offensive contributions are just gravy.

Zastryzny had two hits and four RBI to lead the Wildcats past Alice 9-3 on Monday, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning that put the game out of reach. He now leads the team with a .461 average, a considerable improvement from the .325 he hit a year ago.

■ Matt Stites and James Hudelson both off to good starts with Jefferson College: 2010 Stats