Greg Mountain spent his summer catching thieves.

Tuesday, August 21, 2001

Greg Mountain spent his summer catching thieves.

Mountain’s work had nothing to do with law enforcement. He was a catcher for the Huntington (W.Va.) Hounds baseball team.

Playing catcher for the Hounds, Mountain threw out 18 attempted base stealers. He also had just four errors all season.

"I felt pretty good. I felt better than I did during the (high school) season," said Mountain who will be a junior at Ironton High School.

Playing in 33 games, third most on the team, Mountain batted .375 with a .491 on-base percentage. In 96 at bats, he had 36 hits including four doubles and 24 runs batted in. He walked 12 times and struck out just four times.

Although he spent his defensive time throwing out runners, offensively he stole six bases.

His best games offensively were 3-for-4 against Arensburg, Zanesville, Ashland, Ky., and Beckley, W.Va.

The Hounds finished the season 27-8-2.

"We had a good season. We came within one win of going to the World Series," Mountain said.

Mountain had hoped to play football this fall for the Fighting Tiger, but a shoulder injury has forced him to undergo therapy and sit out the season. He has continued to remain with the team and maintain his conditioning.