Will Hill rounded the bases at a hastened pace Saturday. He left home plate at a sprint, proceeded to round first and never slowed down as he watched the ball sail over the left-centerfield fence.

It is hard to blame him for his unusually fast home run sprint. It was the first time the junior has gotten to enjoy such an experience.

He spent all of last season on the junior varsity team. This year, he earned the opening day start in left field but found himself glued to the dugout as DHS coaches opted to use the designated hitter in his place.

“Will never batted an eye when we were hitting for him,” Demopolis head coach Ben Ramer said. “He kept on working.”

Eventually, Hill was given the opportunity to show his worth at the plate. His production was a little unorthodox at first. He drew walks. He got hit by pitches. He did whatever he had to do to find a way on base.

“Will made it tough for us not to swing him,” Ramer said. “He did it himself. He worked his way into that spot. He hasn’t turned loose of it yet.”

Hill staked a firm claim to his spot in the lineup last week against region foe Carver. On the road in Montgomery, Hill ripped a three-run double to help the Tigers. While the team ultimately fell in extra innings, Hill’s contribution was unmistakable.

Hill continued to do what he does during game one of Saturday’s double-header against the Wolverines. He worked his way on base. He laid off bad pitches. He upped his already astronomical on base percentage. Then came game two.

Hill walked up to the plate with the intention of bunting over a Tiger runner. The first pitch was a called strike. He fouled off the second.

Down 0-2, Hill attacked the very next pitch. Off the bat, it appeared the junior had earned himself a gap-shot double. Seconds later the Demopolis dugout erupted as the ball sailed over the outfield wall to give Hill his first 360-foot sprint around the bases and his first visit to the Player of the Week spotlight.