Staff Report
Asking a high school baseball coach if he’d like to have a smooth fielding, speedy left-handed outfielder who can hit lasers all over the field is kind of like asking a 17-year-old who just got his license if he’d like to test-drive a Porsche.
Um, yeah. Duh.
Cherry Hill West skipper Dan McMaster has enjoyed having that kind of player the last couple years in senior Grant Fournier.
Fournier didn’t burst onto the scene as a freshman. In fact, he appeared in just six games and had all of one hit — a single in a 14-1 blowout win over Bridgeton in the middle of April. But as he grew, so did Fournier’s numbers, and his reputation as one of the best hitters in South Jersey.
As a sophomore, he showed flashes of what he would becoming, hitting .280 with 21 hits, 16 runs scored and 13 RBIs. Then, as a junior, Fournier tore the cover off the ball, hitting .444 with 40 hits, 26 runs, 28 RBIs, seven doubles, two home runs, 16 walks and 12 stolen bases. His slugging percentage was nearly .600 as he helped lead the Lions to a 24-win season that included a Diamond Classic championship and a berth in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals.
His senior year, Fournier remained one of the outstanding hitters in the area, posting a .409 average with 32 runs scored and 24 RBIs for a team that won 16 games and made the state playoffs again. Fournier finished his career with 98 hits, a .373 batting average, 78 runs scored, 69 RBIs, 17 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 43 walks, 48 stolen bases and a .525 slugging percentage.
Now those are some numbers that McMaster is going to have a hard time replacing in the spring of 2026.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
