Riding a Li’l Mo-mentum for Piedmont

Sophomore Mohon riding 25-game hitting streak for Piedmont team on 20-game winning streak

By Al Muskewitz

PIEDMONT — McClane Mohon is working on one of the most endearing and enduring records in the game. Everyone is making a big deal out of his current hitting streak — especially after it reached his uniform number. Everyone, that is, except him.

For the Piedmont second baseman it’s just business as usual, another day at the office.

The sophomore takes a 25-game hitting streak into the Bulldogs’ Saturday doubleheader with Etowah and Munford that is one of the longest in the county since Oxford’s Matthew Maniscalco went on a 35-game tear in 1999 and the eighth-longest on the AHSAA all-time list.

But truth be told, Mohon doesn’t give it a second thought, which is probably the reason it has gone so long.

“The hitting streak really doesn’t mean anything, honestly” he said. “I could have the best hitting streak ever and we could lose and not go deep at all (and it would be meaningless). That’s the last thing I want to happen, that streak coming before anything else. Being a team player and doing my job when my spot gets up, getting on bags, scoring runs and bringing in runs, that’s really all I’m worried about at all.

“I try not to think about it all, but it’s hard. People bring it up all the time, but really I try to block that out as much as I can because the more you think about something like that you’re just going to mess up. You can’t have something like that on your mind when you’re going to the plate. I don’t care about the streak at all. It’s when I don’t think about it when you get the hits.”

The last time Mohon went oh-for was in the Bulldogs’ third game of the season, Feb. 26, against Hokes Bluff. During the life of the streak he’s hitting 44-for-83 (.530) with 38 runs, three homers and 32 RBIs to raising his season average to .489. He has struck out only six times during the streak.

Given what he’s seen of Mohon’s approach, Bulldogs head coach Matt Deerman isn’t surprised at what his young infielder is putting together. The streak caught the coach’s attention when it was at 18 games and the player’s spray chart jumped off the page, but he didn’t mention it to Li’l Mo until it reached 22 games for No. 22 in 2022.

“That guy is so full of energy and he is always working on something,” Deerman said. “He’s a perfectionist on everything, always trying to improve on something. It doesn’t surprise me because of his worth ethic and it’s fun to see that kind of success come out of a kid who works that hard.

“He is a different animal when he comes to the plate; he’s focused on that at bat and that at bat only. He understands his swing and understands the game and the strike zone better than any young hitter I think I’ve coached since I’ve been up here. He’s very mature at the plate for his age.”

The nature of the game makes it hard to maintain a streak that long. A player can hit three balls in a game harder than they’ve hit one all year and make three outs.

The longest hitting streak in the major leagues last season was only 26 games and there were only three streaks of 20 or more. There’s been only six streaks of 30 games or more in the big leagues since 2000. The one that sticks out to Deerman is Dan Uggla’s 33-gamer for the Braves in 2011.

The AHSAA record is 39 games by Russell County’s Eagle Wuestney in 2010-11.

Mohon has always been in the mix. As a freshman he separated himself early in an expected three-man battle at second base, but even though he was regular he admitted he didn’t get really confident until late in the season when it got close to the playoffs. Everything changed when he realized the most important body part for good hitting is a clear mind.

He discovered the weight room, too, but learning to reduce the mental clutter in the batter’s box each at bat did wonders for his productivity. And that includes any thought about any hitting streak.

“If you’re heads not right, nothing’s going to come right after that,” he said. “If your mind’s clear, your hands will be quick, your hands, feet, eye and everything will be in tune altogether. If your mind’s not clear, it’s all going to be out of whack and you’re just not going to be able to hit. Once your mind’s free everything else works out.”  [*** read more]

LONGEST HITTING STREAKS
39 – Eagle Wuestney, Russell County, 2010-11
38 – Drew Connell, Childersburg, 2000-02
37 – Ryan Keedy, Mortimer Jordan, 2003
35 – Matthew Maniscalco, Oxford, 1999
33 – Izaac Yarbrough, Vinemont, 2011
32 – Josh Goodwin, Cullman, 2002
31 – Jeremy Adams, Gardendale, 1999
25 – McClane Mohon, Piedmont, 2022
Source: AHSAA