10. Only one Mt. Paran Pony batter had ever hit a home run over the outfield fence…14 year-old Luke McElwain, in his last Pony game before going over the age limit. With the bases loaded in a 2007 Titans game, 13 year-old Will hit the fence with a long drive to left-field…with another 12 months of Pony eligibility.
9. Will hasn’t gotten much outfield play, but this spring got to play a little centerfield for the Wildcats. In his first game in center, Will raced into the right-center gap, executing a perfect pop-up slide while scooping up the ball. He quickly turned around and fired to second. The throw beat the shocked runner by ten steps.
Later in the same game Will caught a fly ball to medium deep center, with a runner tagging at third. His throw home came in on a line, and from my angle in the stands it was quite evident the throw would arrive well before the runner. Inexplicably, the first-baseman cut off the throw, and the entire coaching staff groaned (as did I). The out wasn’t made, but the short relay home still made for a close play.
8. One of the biggest of Will’s hits was a bottom-of-the-last-inning, two-out, two-strike, base-loaded, game-winning double off hard throwing David Rajecki as an eleven year old at Mt. Paran.
7. This April the Wildcats won a Stockbridge tournament, and Will made two clutch plays in the extra-inning championship game while catching. The opponent’s leadoff hitter reached second late in the game, then took a huge lead, drawing attention to himself and distracting the pitcher by hopping up and down, clapping his hands. Little did he know Will and shortstop Audie had signaled each other, and Will fired a strike to second, nailing the humiliated runner by two steps. Later Will popped out from behind the plate to field a sacrifice bunt on the third-base side…and fired to third to force the lead runner.
6. Will made another play behind the plate this spring, one I had never seen pulled off ever in baseball. The right-handed batter tapped a ball straight down off the plate. The ball bounced straight up about six feet in the air, then Will stuck his mitt straight out, catching the ball as it fell. He then slapped a tag on the batter, still in the box. Then Will stepped in front of the batter, rolled the ball back to the mound, and hustled into the dugout. The batter was still standing in the box!
5. As a twelve year-old, Will joined a Cooperstown-bound Shaw Park team in late May. Playing centerfield in a Jasper tourney, Will went parallel in a backhanded dive going away from the plate, making a spectacular catch. Both umpires completely lost focus. Will immediately got to his feet and fired to second to double off the runner. The umpires couldn’t see there was no way the runner at second could’ve tagged up and scored on the play, so they counted the run.
4. I've often told the tale of arriving home from a 1981 Charlotte business trip just in time to see seven year-old Will catch a pop, step on second, and tag the runner for an unassisted triple play. Playing second base in the next inning, he caught a line drive and raced to first to double off the runner, for an unassisted double play. Then he threw across the diamond to third. His throw beat the runner back to the bag, but the third-baseman dropped the throw, and another triple play was missed.
3. In 2007 the 13 year-old Wildcats faced off against their highly touted Sandy Plains rivals, the Prowlers. Will came on to pitch in relief and shut down the Prowlers, striking out eleven in 4-2/3 innings.
2. This spring Will’s high school team played a tournament in Chattanooga’s historic Engle Stadium, a field where Ruth and Gehrig trod. The Lions were shorthanded in the Thursday game, fielding only nine. Half the team were eighth graders who’d never played all year. Only three starters were there. Without his best stuff, freshman Will pitched the game of his life, not allowing a hit for 4-2/3 innings of the five inning game.
1. Playing shortstop at a night Pony game in Powder Springs, the rival Yankees put their two best players on base, with another good player at the plate. Will speared a line drive moving to his left. The runners weren’t stealing on the pitch, but Will easily beat the runner back to second. Realizing what was happening, Will sped up and ran down the runner going back to first…for his second career unassisted triple play.
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