By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – As a senior pitcher for the Cherokee County Warriors in 2017, Josh Decker was handed the ball time and again on the mound to come up with a big win.
On Monday evening, Decker was handed the ball again – this time as a head coach after former coach Bret Henderson was named the new head football coach at Lincoln High School.
Like so many times as a player, Decker delivered on Tuesday for the Warriors in a sweep of Sand Rock. The scores were 14-4 and 11-1.
“I told the guys today Cherokee County baseball, there’s a lot of people who won’t ever know how much it means to me,” Decker said. “That’s what I told (Principal) Mr. (Bobby) Tittle in our meeting we had yesterday. Cherokee County baseball will always be my first priority. I love this place. This is my Cooperstown. It feels really good to be in the black and gold. I’m glad we’ve started working and ready to work some more.
“It’s definitely a blessing. God’s timing is always perfect. I’m thankful for the opportunity. I couldn’t do it without my wife, my parents, my family. I’d like to thank the administration, coaching staff and the kids. It felt good to get that (first) one off our back and get back in the win column, but we’ve got to be 1-0 every day. We’ve got to win practice tomorrow. Whatever we’re doing, that’s got to be our mindset with where we are at this point in the season.”
Known to Warrior fans and teammates for his fire as a player, Decker’s fire was re-ignited in the bottom of the fifth inning of game one. Not satisfied with how the Warriors were playing up 4-3, Decker called the team over to the side of the dugout and began laying into them to wake up.
The Warriors responded with three runs that inning and seven in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game.
That fire carried over into the second game. The Warriors scored a run in the bottom of the first, five in the second – including four on a grand slam to left field by Parker Wilson – two more in the third and the final three in the fourth.
“Hat’s off to them. I think they respond well to ‘Hey, this is what you’re supposed to do. This is what you’re going to do,’” Decker said. “I’ve got a great group of kids. They’re coachable. They’re fun to be around. They love the game. If we can continue to carry that mindset into practice, into preparation, into film, then we’re going to be OK.”
That proved to be plenty of run support for Warrior starting pitcher Nate Black. Black allowed just one hit in the fourth on a single to left by Kane Robison that drove in Cam Gifford, who walked to lead off the inning. Black pitched around six walks and finished with 12 strikeouts.
“He threw the ball really well,” Decker said of Black. “It’s good to get him back on the mound. He had his first start against Hokes Bluff a couple of weeks ago, and he’s been itching to get back on the mound. He’s a great young man, very coachable. I’m very proud of the way he competed tonight. That was good for him to get back on the mound and dominate the way he did.”
Black said he just tries to “hit the zone” when he’s on the mound.
“Walks happen. You can’t be perfect all the time,” he said. “Every time I walked somebody, I just got ready to move on to the next batter.”
Black had plenty of run support to work with, especially after Wilson’s grand slam.
“I was on deck and I just felt something good was coming from Parker. He was due for a really hard base knock,” Black said. “I was so happy for him. It really helped me out.”
“That was a very big two-out hit,” Decker said. “We preach two-out RBIs. I’m big on that. That’s a momentum swing, a game changer. That was a great at-bat by him, settling down and finding a fastball he liked.”
Carson Tittle delivered a double and was hit by a pitch. Luke Young had a hit, drove in two runs and walked. Black singled and walked twice. James Hunter delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to center in the bottom of the fourth for the final runs of the game.
Ezra Robison suffered the loss for Sand Rock (1-4).
In the first game, Black and Case Hill had a pair of hits for the Warriors. One of Black’s hits was a two-run double. He also drew a walk. Young had a RBI-single, walked and scored twice. Aiden Bobbitt delivered a two-run single and a walk. Wilson and Hunter both walked twice.
Evan Hill earned the win on the mound after working five innings, scattering three runs on eight hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Lathan Amos, Gifford and Robison each had a pair of hits for Sand Rock. Amos and Gifford both doubled. Amos also drove in a pair of runs. Morgan Tucker also doubled and drove in a run. Caiden Bullard and Thomas Snead both singled. Bullard drove in a run and also suffered the loss on the mound.
