Honce traveled by automobile to Milwaukee late last week to participate in a pre-draft workout for major league scouts on Saturday. Accompanied by his father,
Joe, a former minor league player himself, Honce then drove back to Bridgeport where he immediately left for the beach with friends early
Sunday morning.
In the process, Honce, rated the top high school pitching prospect in the state by several major league scouts, missed his graduation ceremony which took place Saturday morning.
According to his mother, Cheryl, Honce fared well at the workout.
"My husband seemed to think he did very well," she said. "There were about 25 or so players there and he was one of the few that got to pitch a second inning."
Honce was clocked between 92-and-94 miles per hour during the workout, which saw him ring up a pair of strikeouts and four groundouts.
"His curve was breaking pretty hard and that was a good sign," Cheryl Honce said. "They both seemed pretty happy with the workout."
Honce led Bridgeport to a 20-5 record and No. 4 ranking in Class AA this past season.
For the season, Honce showed a 5-1 record with 57 strikeouts in 30 innings on the mound. He gave up just seven runs and 13 walks.
He also excelled as a centerfielder and at the plate. He led the Indians with a .538 batting average, which included nine home runs and 38 RBIs.
Honce will decide after today as to whether he'll try life in the minor leagues, sign a letter-of-intent with Winthrop or possibly go to junior college.
Sports writer Greg Talkington can be reached at 626-1444 or by e-mail at gtalkington@exponent-telegram.com
