Four Airport baseball players sign to play college ball
On November 11th, 2021, four of the senior varsity baseball players at Airport High School signed to play college baseball. All the men on the team who signed have great talents and strengths in different areas. Blake M. is a pitcher, who signed to Newberry College, John Allen F. is a fielder and hitter, who also signed to Newberry College. Layne T. is a second baseman, who signed to USC Sumter, and lastly, Blake P. is a catcher and signed to Spartanburg Methodist College. It is a dream come true for all of these young men. They have a bright future ahead of them.
Some of the guys who signed were willing to share their experiences with the process they endured upon committing to play baseball at the collegiate level. All were beyond excited when they heard a college was interested in them. Blake M. found out Newberry College was interested in him during his travel ball season during this past summer. “ Newberry told me that they had seen me pitch about three times and were interested in me,” says Blake M. He also states that, “My buddy, John Allen, was already committed to Newberry, so he mentioned my name to them again. Not even a week later, Newberry notified me that they wanted me to visit their campus and talk about baseball.” After that, everything fell into place for Blake M.
John Allen F. also committed to Newberry, just a few short weeks before Blake M. did. John Allen said, “Just being able to sign to play baseball at a college level was always a dream of mine.” John Allen had other schools looking at him as well as Blake M., but they both chose Newberry, because the campus is beautiful and the people there are great. They both also chose Newberry because that was the college that gave them the best scholarship offers. John Allen also stated that, “ The signing was eventful… it was held in our indoor batting cages and lots of family and friends and teammates came to watch.” John Allen was ecstatic to be able to sign and the process with all his loved ones right by his side made it even more memorable for him.
The last person to speak about their signing is Layne T., who when asked about signing with a college baseball team said, “I was notified from Coach Bradwell, our head coach, that USC Sumter was interested and he got me in contact with Coach Thompson from USC Sumter and we talked on the phone. We set up a visit and when I went I loved the campus and the facilities. When they offered, I knew that’s where I wanted to play. Signing with all my friends was a dream come true and I can’t wait to see how everything turns out.” His future ahead of him is bright as well as all the other guys.
All three of the baseball players who signed are very happy with where their futures are headed. Signing for all of them has been a dream, since they first started playing baseball as a little kid. With support from family, friends, and their teammates, they all will continue to exceed at what they do best. Baseball is not over yet for these young men. A new chapter is just now beginning.
