As Sam Sees It

The continuing saga of Cory Sullivan is still playing out on my computer as I pull up the Wake Forest University Baseball site. Sullivan, for late comers to “As Sam Sees It,” is the grandson of beloved, retired Winslow kindergarten teacher Helen Campbell. He was also the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year and is a candidate for the Dick Houser Award as the Best Collegiate Player in America.

Sullivan led the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship. In the championship game against North Carolina State, Sullivan led off with a home run and before the night was over had gone three for three with two home runs and five runs batted in. He also was the winning pitcher, collecting his sixth win against no losses. He worked eight innings in the 14-4 Demon Deacon win.

This was Sullivan’s first year of pitching at the collegiate level. He had seen mound duty in high school and answered the challenge when asked to try his hand at pitching, a position in which the Demon Deacons were not particularly deep. He responded by winning all six games in which he got a decision. He was knocked around twice, but still sported a respectable earned run average. The Atlantic Coast Conference coaches rewarded him by being voted to the second team All Atlantic Coast Conference Team as a pitcher.

Sullivan was the only player honored for his play at two positions. He was named as the starting center fielder on the All Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Team. He led his team in hitting with a .390 average for the regular season. He stole over 20 bases, had over 10 home runs and knocked in over 50 runs despite batting in the lead-off position which is not expected to yield many RBI’s.

The Wake Forest website has carried story after story on Sullivan and his exploits. He is a candidate for All-American honors and with the statistics cited above and his penchant for dramatic performances in crucial games; he should win such honors.

The Demon Deacons lost 9-7 to Tennessee Tech in the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament. Sullivan was two for four and did his share. It just wasn’t enough.

Russ Marquez, one of the most die-hard baseball fans in Winslow, stopped me on the street last week and asked about the way Steve Finley played a fly ball which he dropped in the opening game of the San Diego series. Finley is a “Golden Glove” award winner and a great center fielder. He has made some remarkable plays for the Diamondbacks. On this occasion, though, Marquez is totally correct that he played the ball wrongly. His one-handed catch (or, more accurately “drop”) of a routine fly ball handed the Padres the tying run.

The right way to catch a baseball is with two hands when possible, even with the larger and more forgiving gloves of today. It was a shame that there was not some reason for Finley to make throw after the catch. He would have done it the right way then and there would have been no error.

This error came in a game the Diamondbacks lost 3-1 with the tying run and one of the two go-ahead runs being unearned due to errors. Add to that the fact that the Diamondbacks continually had runners in scoring position and could not get a hit and this was one of the team’s most frustrating days.

Young players, little things make a big difference sometimes. Catching the ball in two hands unless you can only get one on it is important. So is backing up your teammate and getting in position to make the throw when you make the catch. Baseball is a simple game, but if you forget the fundamentals, some day it will come back to haunt you.

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