Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Wesley Marchman’s senior season as a high-school baseball player was cut short, but he’s at least going to get to keep playing a sport that means so much to him.

Marchman, a Callaway High graduate, has signed a letter of intent to join the Bevill State Community College (Ala.) baseball team.

Marchman weighed his options, and he figured Bevill State offered him the best chance to step and play right away.

“I just felt like I would have got the most playing time there for sure,” Marchman said. “At a lot of the other schools a lot of the players were returning, and (Bevill State is) rebuilding right now. I knew I’d have a better opportunity over there.”

Marchman was a standout pitcher as a freshman and a sophomore, but he was unable to pitch the past two seasons because of an injury, although he continued to excel as a position player, playing third base as a junior and shortstop as a senior.

While Marchman didn’t pitch as a senior, he was getting closer to returning to the mound when the season was shut down in March because of the coronavirus.

Flash forward a few months and the injury is now a thing of the past, and Marchman pitched pain free and effectively last weekend.

“(Bevill State) did look at me as a dual guy, pitching and playing infield,” Marchman said. “Honestly, I’d rather pitch. It’s always what I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been hurt a couple of years. This past Saturday, I pitched five innings, and I did real good. I’m now back and pitching. After that, I’m super-excited about pitching now.”

There were times when Marchman wondered if his pitching days were behind him, but he’s healthy now and ready to roll.

“I didn’t know for sure when I was hurt if I would be able to keep playing, because I was hurt for so long,” Marchman said. “Now it’s all passed and I know I’m going to play, I’m really excited.”

Marchman was a four-year starter at Callaway, and he was a key part of teams that made back-to-back appearances in the state semifinals in 2018 and 2019.

In 2018, Marchman was one of Callaway’s top pitchers, and he held Thomasville to five hits and one unearned run in a must-win game in the state quarterfinals.

Marchman didn’t pitch in 2019, but he continued to contribute as a third baseman as Callaway reached the state semifinals for a second straight season.

“You just appreciate what he did last year, even being able to come back and throw from third base,” Callaway head coach Dusty Hubbard said. “You could tell his arm was bothering him. When he started playing third last year, that’s when we changed as a team. Just being able to do that is just huge for your team, and you appreciate guys that put the team before themselves.”