San Diego Player of the Week : Southworth’s Practiced Swing Fits Him to a Tee

Ten days ago, Granite Hills High School outfielder Kurt Southworth wasn’t completely happy.

Sure, he was hitting .375 and had two home runs, and his team was off to a 7-3 start, 4-1 in the Grossmont League. But something was amiss.

“I hadn’t been happy with the way I was hitting,” he said. “I kept working on some stuff at home with a tee, hitting the ball into the net. . . . My dad worked with me on my swing. He’d tell me what I was doing wrong, if I was dropping my hands.”

The hours of batting practice paid off in the Lions tournament last week. In five straight victories, Southworth, The Times’ Player of the Week, went 9 for 19 with a home run in each game and had 18 runs batted in. Granite Hills outscored its opponents, 75-7, to win the AAA Division.

“I think where I’m holding the bat--up and away from my body--is doing a lot,” Southworth said.

“I used to only hit (off the tee) a couple times a week. Now I’ll hit every day, just working on things. We have a video camera and I’ll hit off the tee and we’ll film it.”

Southworth hit .295 with five home runs last season. This season, he has seven homers and is hitting .412.

“Driving in 18 runs in five games--you don’t expect that, but he is a solid hitter,” Coach Gordy Thompson said. “Even the balls he’s making outs on, he’s hitting well. . . . I think he’s just matured. He has more confidence in himself. He’s learned to hit the ball the other way, the ball on the outside corner.”

By the tournament’s third day, on which Southworth drove in four runs in the Eagles’ 22-3 victory over Point Loma, his teammates were alternately encouraging him and needling him to keep his string of home runs going.

“A lot of people on the team were saying stuff like, ‘Are you going to hit four in a row?’ or ‘You’re going to get another one today,’ but I really didn’t let that get to me,” Southworth said.

“I didn’t go after the first or second pitch like I usually do,” he said. “I wasn’t afraid to let them put a couple strikes past me.”

Southworth is being just as patient in deciding what he’ll do after he graduates. He has spoken with baseball coaches at small colleges in Arizona and Idaho but has made no commitment. He is concentrating on baseball right now.

“We scored 75 runs in five games. I think we’ll keep it up,” he said. “We’re really feeling strong. I don’t think it matters who’s on the mound.”

Kurt Southworth

Granite Hills High

Position: Outfielder

Height, Weight, Class: 5-10, 170, Sr.

Last Week: Hit a home run in each of five games in the Lions Tournament, driving in 18 runs to lead Granite Hills to the AAA Division championship.