STARKVILLE – For Starkville Academy’s Caleb Griffin, the high point and low point of his senior baseball season came against the same opponent on the same field.
“As the season started, I was impressed early,” Girffin said. “Then a low point came when we lost our first district game to Heritage (Academy). I knew if I kept pitching like that, I wasn’t going to be able to commit to a college. I made a promise to myself then to work harder than ever before.
“My goal was to pitch on the next level. Every day I was waiting for another chance to pitch against Heritage. No disrespect to the other district opponents, but that was a big game for me and for this team. I just kept waiting patiently. Throwing a one-hit shutout against them was easily the high point of my season.”
Griffin proved a dominating force on the mound as Starkville Academy finished 19-6 overall and captured a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, District 2 championship. On the mound, the Northeast Mississippi Community College signee posted a 6-2 record with a 1.80 earned run average. In 54-1/3 innings of work, Griffin struck out 68 and held opponents to a .138 batting average.
For this success, Griffin is being chosen today as The Dispatch’s All-Area Prep Baseball Player of the Year.
“We had a great run,” Griffin said. “We could not have done it without the defense. Also, we had some sophomores step up. We had some great seniors on this year’s team and we had some high expectations, but we would not have had success without some young guys really step up. Our defense was miraculous and we had some talent, but it was young. I think that is why a lot of people outside the program did not have high expectations.”
When Jarrod Parks took over the Starkville Academy program last summer, he quickly liked the work ethic of his ace pitcher.
“Caleb was definitely on a mission,” said Parks, who played at Mississippi State and coached at East Mississippi Community College, before coming to Starkville Academy. “He really wanted a chance to play college baseball and he was dedicated to that cause. We had a super team this year with a lot of really tight guys.
“You could tell they looked up to Caleb and respected Caleb. It was a different feeling when he was on the mound. Everybody was engaged and we knew we had a great chance to win.”
Griffin began playing t-ball when he entered grade school. Through the years, his family has been supportive but not overbearing. Parents Tina McWhorter, Tobb Griffin, step-father William McWhorter and sister Malli Brynn McWhorter have been there for every step of the ride.
Still, Griffin said his love of the game has been the fuel for his “self-motivation.”
“Baseball has always been my first love,” Griffin said. “I really didn’t have any idea that I would want to play college ball until between my freshman and sophomore years. In my freshman year, I wasn’t anything special. I was that extra arm needed to throw in a junior varsity game. I really can’t tell you what sparked that fire inside me.
“Entering my sophomore year, I decided that I didn’t want to be average anymore. I wanted to play in college and the only way I could do that was to mold myself into a better player. Each off-season I spent more time working on my game. My freshman year I was throwing 70 to 73 (mph). Then later, it was 78 to 80.”
In his sophomore season, Griffin was a starter but the team only won nine games. A year later, the team made a major turn, won 22 games and returned to the postseason. When that season completed, the Volunteers set some lofty team goals. Griffin set some lofty personal goals.
“I really wanted a great senior season,” Griffin said. “I knew this was my final window of opportunity to commit to a college. Every day during the off-season, I did the long-toss, the arm-bend, everything I needed to do. I ran, lifted, threw, and worked my tail off because I knew this was my only chance.”
Fellow senior Drake Gordman knew the team had a chance to be special. He also knew Griffin would play a major role in that success.
“When Caleb pitched, it was easy to play defense,” Gordman said. “You knew he was going to get a bunch of ground ball outs, so we had to make plays. He pitched with lots of confidence and it carried over to the entire team when he was on the mound.”
That confidence came in handy when Starkville Academy was trying to nail down the district championship.
Starkville Academy had a 4-0 lead with Griffin was on the mound when Heritage Academy struck for five runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-5 victory on March 22 at Volunteer Field. Two days later, Starkville Academy evened the season series. One month later, Griffin pitched a one-hit shutout in a 6-0 win, essentially nailing down the district title and home-field advantage in the playoffs (which suddenly ended with a first-round loss to Simpson Academy).
“I had just committed to Northeast right before the last Heritage game,” Griffin said. “I felt a lot of pressure because I couldn’t let my teammates down again and because I had just committed, so you want to pitch well. Fans expected you pitch like a college signee. You want to validate the faith the school has shown in you.
“It was a relief to sign with Northeast. Finally, all of the hard work had paid off. Northeast started talking to me in the middle of the season. When I went on a visit, I wanted to go there. It was great that they wanted me as well.”
Griffin feels better-prepared for college ball after playing under Parks for one season.
“Coach came in and did a great job with us,” Griffin said. “He was so good for this team. For the seniors, we got a preview of how college coaches will deal with us, because he coached us like we were college players. He always got his point across. He’s not a screamer. However, you know what he wants. He knows so much about baseball. He taught each of us a lot.
“Baseball is a 90 percent mental game. That is where we grew so much as a team. How do you handle yourself in certain situations? I thought he handled the transition from coaching in college to coaching in high school great. The younger players are fortunate.”
Meanwhile, the college career is on slight hold. Griffin suffered a tear during his first summer ball play this year. Tommy John surgery followed. Griffin will medically red-shirt this season at Northeast and should be cleared to start throwing again in January.
“If it had to happen, I am glad it happened after my high school career was over,” Griffin said. “They said most come back from the surgery even better than before. Hopefully, that will be the case.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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