Mason sparks Redhawks offense as OVC play approaches

Jevon Mason has been one of the best players in the Ohio Valley Conference to start the 2022 baseball season. The junior outfielder has a batting average of .338 with six home runs and holds a .469 on-base percentage.

Mason is from Des Moines, Iowa, and played his first two years of collegiate baseball at Iowa Western, a division one junior college, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After his sophomore season at Iowa Western, he had a recruitment visit at Southeast Missouri State and committed to play at SEMO shortly after.

Since arriving at SEMO, Mason has been doing his damage from the leadoff spot in the lineup, which he admitted was a bit of a change when he transferred to SEMO. While at Iowa Western, Mason referred to himself as a “middle-of-the-order guy,” and he had to adjust to his new role as leadoff.

“It’s actually pretty new; the past few seasons, I talked to [Coach] Sawyers, and he said he really likes me in that leadoff spot. He says I give off good energy for the boys, and hopefully, it keeps on working,” Mason said.

With his new role in the lineup, he also had to slightly change his approach at the plate, saying he tries to see a couple more pitches not only for himself, but for his teammates batting behind him. However, Mason said if he gets a fastball over the plate, he’s definitely going to take a swing at it.

Head coach Andy Sawyers reiterated Jevon Mason wasn’t always a leadoff hitter, and when he started the recruitment process of Mason, he always imagined him batting in the heart of the order.

“He gave us great at-bats immediately. He does a great job in the strike zone and has a good on-base percentage, so we plugged him in there, because we were trying to get our lineup solidified, and he did a great job, but that was never really my plan,” Sawyers said.

Perhaps the most impressive individual stat for Jevon Mason is his home run total so far this season. He has already doubled the amount of long balls he hit last season and sits top three in the conference with four.

Sawyers believes the increase in home runs is solely based on the natural progression of a hitter.

“He’s obviously a very strong kid. Hitters learn to get hits, and then you can leverage and drive the baseball, and that's what he did a year ago. He got a ton of hits. He got doubles, and now, he’s going to learn to get the ball over the fence,” Sawyers said.

Sawyers said it's obvious Mason is a great player on the field, but the same goes for him off the field, as well. Sawyers said he is one of the most interesting players on the team and that he’s interested in other things outside of baseball and that he is “a great encourager of his teammates.” Sawyers also added that he is a “special kid” and extremely smart inside and outside of the classroom.

The Redhawks success has carried over from last season, as they currently sit in second in the conference with a 14-5, which includes a pair of impressive wins against the former No. 22 team in the country, Dallas Baptist University. The hot start for the team can be partially credited to Mason’s play, as well as the camaraderie of the team.

“We’ve got a lot of returning guys from last year’s team, so we definitely have the confidence building from that, and we just know we’re a solid team. Especially when we’re down in games, we know we can go out there and get the job done,” Mason said.

Sawyers added they have recruited well, and everyone is very close and competitive on game days. He said Mason’s competitiveness is one of the reasons he likes him in the leadoff spot.

“Jevon is one of our best gameday competitors in the batter’s box. He’s a tough out, and even if you do get him out, it's not easy, and it really sets the tone for the rest of our lineup,” Sawyers said.

If Mason keeps his current form on the field throughout the entire season, the Redhawks should be in good position to make another run at the conference title and another trip to the NCAA College World Series. Along with a playoff berth, he could also start to open the eyes of some professional scouts as he enters his junior season.

Mason didn’t want to talk about his playing future beyond SEMO, saying he’s focused on the next series and doing whatever he has to do to help the team win ball games, which has been working early on for the Redhawks.