When Devin Presnell and Dalton Hardee played baseball at Watauga, they played second base and shortstop and was one of the Northwestern 4-A Conference’s top double-play tandem.

They’re still a tandem at their current home, Mars Hill College. However, their positions have changed just a bit.

Presnell, a junior, was moved from second base to shortstop last year, where he is the Lions’ team captain and a strong candidate to be first-team All-South Atlantic Conference.

Hardee was moved from shortstop to several places until he settled in at third base. Hardee, a sophomore, cracked the Mars Hill starting lineup this year and while hitting ninth in the order, he is a table-setter for Presnell, who hits second.

So, instead of protecting the middle of the Watauga infield, they protect the left side of the Mars Hill infield.
“We own the left side this year,” Presnell said.

Presnell also owned the Lenoir-Rhyne pitching staff last Saturday. He blistered the Bears by hitting a pair of three-run home runs in a doubleheader the Lions swept. Presnell also hit for the cycle in the second game, a 13-2, seven-inning Mars Hill victory.

“I didn’t want to do too much,” Presnell said. “I just wanted to put a good swing on it and do all I can.”

Presnell ended up going 8-of-13 from the plate in the three-game series. He also had an RBI in the first game, a 11-8 Mars Hill victory. The Lions went into the series 5-12 in road games, but took three from Lenoir-Rhyne, which went into the weekend ranked 21st in the Division II baseball poll.

And it wasn’t the first time Presnell had put up gaudy numbers. He went 8-of-16 in a series against Wingate earlier this year, but was not named the SAC’s player of the week.

“Our DH went 11-for-13, so... We’ll find out this week.”

It’s all about the team for both players. Mars Hill wants to be one of the six teams to reach the SAC Tournament.

The Lions are 10-8 and in fourth place in the conference.

“This weekend didn’t guarantee us a spot, but it put us in a good position,” Presnell said. “We’ve only got one weekend left, Carson-Newman. They’re young and they’re a good ballclub, but it would be neat if we could take at least two out of three from them.”

Hardee agreed that two wins over Carson-Newman would help solidify a berth for the Lions, who have not made the tournament since Presnell has been there.

“We probably need to take two out of three next weekend,” Hardee said. “We’re 10-8 right now, so it looks pretty good this year as long as we can take care of business next weekend.”

Presnell was a solid, but not a spectacular player while at Watauga, but was able to hook on with Mars Hill out of high school. Mars Hill coach Dan Taylor said Presnell’s work ethic has helped him improve enough to not only become a starter, but a one of the team’s captains.

“Devin went from not traveling in his first year, to being a starter last year,” Taylor said. “We were considering him playing in the outfield or second base, we didn’t know what to do. Brian Williams, who was our starting shortstop, made a couple of errors and on a whim, I just felt like Devin’s arm strength and athleticism would win out and so we moved him to shortstop and we haven’t looked back. Now, he’s the best shortstop in our league.”

Presnell was named one of the team’s captains this year despite being a junior. However, his play and his work ethic has justified Taylor’s faith in his shortstop.

“Coach just wanted people who represented the program,” Presnell said. “I try to work as possibly as I can. I found out at the beginning of the fall that I was going to be captain, so I was pretty happy about that.”

“His work ethic is just off the charts,” Taylor said. “Theoretically, coming through the door, he was more or less an invited walkon.”

Presnell says he loves being in college, which has helped keep him at the private school of about 915 students.

He’s majoring in sports management and hopes to stay in the sports industry after graduation.

“Just the atmosphere, college baseball in general is the best thing I could possibly be doing,” Presnell said.
“I’m having fun, I’m successful, I’m just playing as hard as I can and if you do things right on and off the field, good things are going to happen to you.”

Hardee had played third base at Watauga during his sophomore season before being moved to shortstop his junior year. He played there for two years and went to Mars Hill as a shortstop.

Hardee was moved to the outfield and to second base before finally setting in at third.

“I’ve been playing third the last couple of months and have been pretty comfortable there,” Hardee said. “It was kind of like back in the day when I played third during my sophomore year.”

Once Hardee settled in on a position, he had to get used to the pitching he was facing in college. Most pitchers in college were stars on their high school teams and they have better control and more variety of pitches to use.

“It’s a lot different,” Hardee said. “They don’t throw as many fastballs. It’s about the same speed, so that’s not the hard part. They have a lot more movement in their pitches.”

Hardee played sparingly his freshman year, but has settled into the starting lineup. He scored three runs and went 3-for-6 against Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday.

“We knew he was a good baseball player,” Taylor said. “He’s had some things he’s really had to work on and make adjustments in his swing. Here’s a guy who came in and we worked him all last year at second base and he played in our jayvee program. Now, here’s a guy who worked all summer long and worked at third base and left field at positions where we were a little thin and positions where if he made routine plays, he would get a chance and that’s what he’s done.”

Hardee, who credits Presnell for showing him the ropes on the baseball field, also likes the college atmosphere at Mars Hill.

“It’s nice being on your own,” Hardee said. “It helps you make decisions about life and stuff like that. Plus, the baseball’s fun.”

“I wouldn’t do anything different,” he added.