Coming Friday: All-Cherokee County Softball

By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

When Spring Garden coach Cole Murphy needed a big-game performance on the mound last baseball season, he turned to senior Cam Welsh to deliver.

Welsh didn’t disappoint.

His signature game on the mound last season came back on March 11. The Berry College signee was locked in a pitcher’s duel against Cherokee County High School sophomore Carson Tittle. Welsh tossed a two-hitter, giving up an unearned run with four walks and eight strikeouts in the Panthers’ 2-1 victory over the Warriors to win the Cherokee County championship.

The victory secured the Panthers’ fourth straight county baseball title.

“I remember being really fired up for that one,” Welsh said. “You always look forward to playing Centre, but I had never actually thrown in a county tournament game. That was big for me to finally get to throw in a county tournament game, especially the championship game.

“It was a good night, a pitcher’s duel that night. It was a great ball game and thankfully we came out on top.”

But performances like those might not have come had Welsh not gotten his right arm checked out after he had been experiencing numbness in his fingers when releasing the ball. He knew something just wasn’t quite right.

“I first really noticed it this past summer during a summer ball game,” Welsh said. “I kind of felt a sensation in one of my fingers. It didn’t bother me that much, but I came out this spring and it started bothering me a little bit more. There were days where I didn’t know if I was going to get out there and feel great or if I was going to get out there and not feel a few of my fingers.”

Welsh sought out an athletic trainer at Jacksonville State. He said she started working with him on the issue which he said “helped a lot.”

“Being a baseball guy and hearing about people having pains like I was having, I was thinking this may not be good. I took action on it. I went and got somebody who knows their stuff, and she reassured me that it wasn’t that serious.”

One thing that helped Welsh was stretching his entire arm before pitching.

“I really worked on stretching all of my arm, not just the typical baseball stretches, but stretching my forearm, stretching different parts of my arm that were really tight and causing that problem to get worse. That was a big part of fixing it,” he said. “Pushing through that has definitely paid off. I’m grateful I did it.”

Murphy and the Panthers are too. After working out his arm trouble, Murphy said Welsh went out and “did his thing.”

“When Cam found out it was just a nerve and it wasn’t a ligament and it wasn’t something serious, I think that helped him relax more,” Murphy said.

Welsh went 4-2 on the mound this season, including a no-hitter against Ranburne. He compiled a 1.84 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. Welsh also batted .321 with four doubles, two home runs, 22 walks, 19 runs and 17 RBIs as the Panthers finished as Class 1A, Area 13 runners-up and made another trip to the postseason.

For his efforts, the Cherokee County baseball coaches recently selected Welsh as their All-Cherokee County Most Valuable Player.

“That means a lot,” Welsh said. “To be in a category with some other really great players is certainly special. It definitely means a lot after all these years of hard work and a lot of time put into this.

“It’s an honor to be counted on in those big games. It’s something every kid dreams of, and I was blessed to live that dream this year. It really means a lot that people can depend and trust me.”

Murphy said consistency was a big key for Welsh his senior year.

“It’s huge for him to be able to not just be all-county, but to get that MVP for the county. I couldn’t be more proud of him just from how hard he’s worked,” Murphy said.

“He does a great job setting that example of working extra. What you do with your coaches isn’t enough to be on an elite level. He does a great job of setting that example for the younger kids. It goes all the way back to last year with Landon (Gowens) and Chaz (Pope). Those guys set the example for him. It’s just something that kind of trickles down. That’s something Cam has taken seriously, and now he’s doing it for the younger guys. That’s just a big part of who he is and the success we’ve had.”

And now Welsh is hoping to carry that success on to Berry.

“I’m going back to step one, going back to being a freshman. That’s going to be different,” he said. “I just got my summer workout plans. I’ll be starting up on those. It’s just back to the grind.”

Joining Welsh from Spring Garden on the All-Cherokee County Team is Reece Winstead, Chapel Pope, John Welsh and Zane Edwards. Honorable mention Panthers are Braxton Haney, Connor Bates and Clayton Sadler.

The Cherokee County Warriors had four selections in Connor Wilson, Daegan Scott, Malachi Horton and Tittle. Warrior honorable mention players are Cooper Rodgers, Corbin Battles, Garrett McRay and Beck McKinney.

Cedar Bluff and Sand Rock both had three selections apiece. Chosen from the Tigers was Bryson Teague, Alex Baty and Isaac Bishop. Tiger honorable mention players are Hunter Stallings, Kaden Pack and Bucky Leek.

Brian Giles, Jake Middlebrooks and Jace Turner represent the Wildcats. Cam Gifford and Zach Clanton are honorable mention players.

Kyler Bradley represents Gaylesville.