Conq baseball signs another DCHS middle infielder

   The line of middle infielders who have graduated from coach John Neill's DCHS baseball program to Phil Stephenson's program at Dodge City Community College got a little longer Thursday.
    Red Demon shortstop Jordan Slaton inked a national letter of intent to play baseball at DCCC next season. He follows second basemen Max Taylor, now at New Mexico State, and Taylor Doan, who just finished his second year with the Conqs.
    "I'm just looking to come in, work hard and do what I can for the team," Slaton said of the opportunity to continue playing ball in Dodge City.
    Neill said he is quite familiar with his shortstop's team-first, blue-collar attitude and is convinced that it will be one of Slaton's biggest assets as he moves on to the next level.
    "He works hard enough that he's going to be able to compete at that level," Neill added. "Defensively his hands are great, he knows the game well — he'll be a great asset to DC3."
    The starting shortstop position for the Conqs was solidified in the early part of the 2009 season, though, with the emergence of Haysville product Jorden Johnson. Johnson hit .304 in 135 at-bats in his freshman season and was second on the team with seven home runs in 2009.
    Stephenson said he would leave the door open to temporarily playing Slaton at second base, a position that will be open next year following Doan's departure. But shortstop, he added, is the Dodge High product's ultimate destination.
    "That's where we're intending to put him," Stephenson said. "His future, if his arm strength continues to develop, is at shortstop. But more than that, we like to try to find shortstops because that guy's usually the best athlete on the field, and that athleticism can be what allows a player like Jordan to succeed in any number of positions not only here but at the four-year level."
    Both Stephenson and Neill said that Slaton is more of a finished product on defense than he was on offense at this point, but both coaches are confident that the infielder has what it takes to make the transition from the high school to the college game.
    Going into Thursday's doubleheader against Maize, Slaton was hitting .404 with three triples through 16 games.
    "He's got a lot of tools to work with," Stephenson said. "He's a decent runner, he's got a strong arm and he's shown the ability to drive the baseball. I think when he gets into our program, we're going to be able to fine-tune a lot of those skills and improve on them."