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Forsyth County News
With the season yet to begin, South Forsyth’s baseball team already has six seniors set to play at the next level.

State qualifiers the last two seasons, the War Eagle program has obviously caught the eyes of college recruiters, something coach Jamie Corr attributes to his players’ work ethic and commitment.

“The fact that six guys have already signed scholarships going into the senior year is just a testament to their hard work and their dedication to the program,” Corr said.

Among the schools that will welcome the outgoing War Eagles is a collection of notable NCAA Division I programs. Catcher Chase Fowler committed to the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg over Labor Day weekend, while shortstop Jordan Neese will move on to Auburn University in Alabama. Pitcher Chris Rowley will compete at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and outfielder Andrew Barna has signed with Davidson College near Charlotte.

Also with scholarships in hand are pitcher/infielder Curtis Parker, set to play at Division II Augusta State University, and pitcher Kevin Bibler, headed to Darton College, a two-year school in Albany.

Corr added that Jack Stout is likely to sign with a school before the end of his senior year, while junior Zach Alvord has received an offer from Auburn.

Parker said his decision to play at Augusta State came quickly once he set foot on the campus.

“I went down there on one visit. They hadn’t even seen me play and they offered me a scholarship, so I said ‘yes’ before they even finished the question. I just knew it was the place for me,” said Parker, who plans to study nursing.

For Neese, the decision to play for one of Georgia’s Southeastern Conference rivals will require him to compartmentalize his loyalties a bit.
“I’m going to be a Georgia football fan, but I’m going to be an Auburn baseball fan,” said Neese, who also talked to D-I Samford University near Birmingham and a Florida junior college before committing to Auburn.

The aspirations of the players for their post-college years are as varied as the schools that will welcome them. Parker plans to focus on healthcare, while Barna says economics or law will be his area of interest.

For Rowley, his first five years after graduating from Army will be spent in military service, two of those years active duty.

“I really want to serve my country. I want to be a pilot in the Army,” said Rowley, whose grandfathers both served in the military.

The crop of signees have had time to make their marks on the South program. Corr noted that Fowler, Neese, Rowley, Parker and Bibler have been varsity fixtures since their sophomore seasons, with Neese and Bibler playing big roles as freshmen.

“I’m just blessed to be coaching baseball in a very good area, and a lot of credit needs to go to the youth leagues in Forsyth County for doing such a great job, including the Parks and Rec Department,” Corr said.

Asked why the South program seems to have caught the eye of so many recruiters, Rowley said the school’s baseball system deserves a lot of credit.

“The work ethic that Coach Corr instills in us every day, even his pitchers, [makes a difference],” Rowley said.

“You see pitchers walk out to the mound [other places]. We run out, and you don’t see that often. We work hard day in and day out, and that’s what gets us noticed.”

Having so many guys on the same team making such big decisions at the same time means they can support and advise one another, Parker said.

“It’s definitely helped out. We help each other out in certain situations, like if someone doesn’t know what to do, you can tell them what you did.”

At the end of the day, though, college is a new chapter, and each guy has to decide how to enter that chapter for himself.

“We’ve gotten opinions from other people, but what it comes down to [is] it’s really an individual decision,” Rowley said.
“When it comes down to it, it’s what we and our families decide is best for us and our future.”

E-mail BJ Corbitt at bjcorbitt@forsythnews.com.