By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – Cherokee County High School baseball coach Josh Decker calls senior pitcher/shortstop Carson Tittle “a Swiss army knife when it comes to baseball.” He says Tittle’s versatility is “invaluable.”
“He swings the bat really well. He hits in the one (leadoff spot) for us. On the mound in a big-time game, he’s the one who wants the ball. He’s a great base runner, great fielder. He’s a guy who can do everything. He’s one of those guys who wants to be up at bat. He wants the ball hit to him for the last out of the game. You can’t replicate that. You can’t coach that. You just hope some of your guys want to be that way.”
But it hasn’t been easy for Tittle to “be that way.” He suffered two ACL injuries in back-to-back years in football, including one that cost him all but a handful of at-bats his junior year in baseball. It wasn’t looking too promising for him to continue playing after graduating high school.
“Usually, the junior season is when you get recognized by (college) coaches and have a breakout,” Tittle said. “I didn’t get to play last year, so this year, I knew I had to really prove myself to other coaches. Thank goodness Gadsden State noticed me.”
Gadsden State did more than notice Tittle. On Monday morning, Tittle signed a baseball scholarship with the Cardinals.
“I’m excited to get started, start this new life and my new baseball career,” Tittle said.
“He’s had a tremendous rehab process throughout the end of football season. He came back and has done everything he needed to do to be able to produce the way he has this year in baseball,” Decker said. “It speaks to his toughness. It speaks to his perseverance, his relentlessness, and his passion for the game.”
So far this season, Tittle is batting .396 with nine doubles, 29 RBIs and 28 runs. He hit his first career home run – a grand slam no less – in last Thursday’s area game against Alexandria.
Tittle also picked up the win in that game on the mound. He’s compiled a 6-1 record this season with a 1.80 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. The Warriors (17-13) will travel to Cordova for the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs this Friday in a best-of-three game series.
But perhaps more important than Tittle’s versatility and stats is the leadership he brings to the Warriors.
“Since I’ve gotten to know Carson, I learned pretty quickly he’s a kid who doesn’t have to lead by talking. He doesn’t have to lead by screaming or getting people in check. He’s the type of kid who shows up to work and does his job every day,” Decker said. “He’s an example of what we want. He’s not a rah-rah guy. I can still barely get him to open his mouth. He’s one of those guys you want in your program. He’s setting the way forward for the younger ones coming up.”
Tittle said he’s just glad to be part of the team’s success.
“We had good players last year, but I knew we had a good team coming back this year,” he said. “I just needed to get healthy this year, prove to my teammates that I wanted to fight for them.”
Decker said it’s “refreshing” for him to see Tittle get the chance to play for Gadsden State.
“Coach (Blake) Lewis does a great job, and I couldn’t think of a better guy to be getting our guy than him,” Decker said. “I know it will be good for our community and for his family to be able to continue watching him.”
