By Monica Holmes
Associate Editor

Two varsity baseball players inked a deal to play college ball last week. Seniors Bailey Lipscomb and Devin Daniels signed to play baseball for Chowan University next year on May 27.

Lipscomb, who was both a third baseman and pitcher for the varsity baseball team, has signed as a pitcher for Chowan. This season he led the team in pitching, with a record of 5-2. With 54 innings pitched, Lipscomb ended the season with an ERA of 1.17. Lipscomb said he knows that college baseball will be different from high school, but he is looking forward to these new experiences.

“There is going to be a higher level of play in college. All the players are good,” Lipscomb said. “I’m most looking forward to the freedom of college and meeting new people.”

While at FFHS Daniels played first baseman. He hopes to continue that role at Chowan. Daniels was among the team’s leaders in fielding percentage with a .956 average in 19 games played. He said he’s excited about the challenge of playing after high school.

“I’m looking forward to facing college players every day,” Daniels said. “It’s going to be a lot harder (than high school).”

Lipscomb and Daniels also recently signed to play for the Outer Banks Daredevils this summer.

In addition to Lipscomb and Daniels, other varsity baseball players plan to play college ball as well. The baseball team’s primary catch Corey Ballard says he plans to try out for the baseball team at Guilford Tech. Ballard is also playing catcher for the Outer Banks Daredevils.

Senior Hayden Dougherty plans to try out for the Hampden Sydney baseball team in the fall. Dougherty led the team in on-base percentage with a .548 and had the highest batting average for the season with a .446.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play in college, while also receiving a high level education,” Dougherty said.

Senior Noah Breit has talked to the baseball coach at Methodist University and plans to try out for the 2014-2015 season. Breit has pointed out that since Methodist University is a D-III school there is no formal signing and everyone must try out for a spot on the team.

“The coach has told me that there will be a spot for me on the team if I maintain my speed and ability to succeed in his offense,” Breit said.

Breit hopes to play center field, where he says his speed can be utilized the most due to the larger area of the field to cover.

“I am most looking forward to contributing to the baseball program’s high level of success in both their conference and region,” Breit said. “I also hope to play a role in numerous conference championships.”

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