Cox, Tolbert, Patton and Anders shine for EHS

EASLEY — A bunch of talent only gets you so far.

Easley sophomore pitcher Walker Cox is close to 6-foot-6 and throws in the upper 80s. He got the nod as the starting pitcher in the biggest game of his life last Friday night and answered the call in a 5-3 win over Indian Land. The stage could not have gotten much bigger in the third game of the Class 4A State Tournament.

He could have folded early on, too.

In the first inning, Cox got out of a bases-loaded jam with no runs after throwing 22 pitches.

Cox ended the night with 4.2 innings of work, 4 strikeouts, only 1 walk and only 1 earned run.

“He (Cox) threw 85 (total) pitches and 63 percent strikes, and that helped us out a lot,” said Cole Simpson, the Pitching Coach for Easley. “He was really effective. His off-speed was working, keeping hitters off-balance. When you add that fastball in the upper 80s, it really helps him out. You have to tip your hat to the kid. It was the biggest game of the year and probably his lifetime, and he showed up for the moment. I can’t do anything from the dugout. It’s all him.”

But after the victory, the 16-year-old Cox used the phrase “building blocks” when talking about the support he’s gotten this season.

His grandpa (William) stood right by the Easley dugout when Cox was on the mound, hollering words of encouragement to his grandson. He could not have sat down even if you would have offered him a chair.

“He (Walker) is my first grandchild,” said William. “He’s Walker James Cox and my name is William James Walker. He’s everything to me.”

Continued William, “This is my perspective … Number 17 right there (Kaleb Owens) is the star of the team. What he’s meant to Walker Cox - as far as confidence, how to pitch, how to conduct yourself and the respect he has for the seniors is everything. He loves these guys. Kaleb is the guy. He’s an encourager, a coach on the field and a good guy. I’m just fired up. This might have been the biggest game during his high school career and here he is a sophomore.”

So after Walker was taken out of the game, William was asked how it was watching his grandson pitch in this big playoff game.

“I wanted to throw up,” he joked, “but we love it.”

Owens, known as KO, is in constant communication during the game when he’s in the dugout and his Easley teammates are on the mound.

He’s made it a point, too, to try and help out Walker during his sophomore season.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of him this year,” Owens said. “I’ve kind of taken him under my wing and just tried to give him the best tips that I could give him. I was where he was at two years ago as a sophomore and I didn’t really have that senior leadership that much and I just felt being there for him would do so much for him. I’m so proud of him and everyone else. We’ve wanted this for so long and the grit that we show every day. We’ve worked our tails off for this and it’s pretty sweet when you start winning like this at a high level. Walker is a goober, but he works his tail off.”

Walker, meanwhile, just summed up his pitching performance last Friday night and the season by saying: “I’ve got all my building blocks helping me get there.”

Making the plays: In the top of the second inning, Easley catcher Aaron Tolbert revved up the hometown crowd by gunning down a runner at second base. Tolbert adds some punch to lineup as a power hitter and he’s the first one to slide into base. He’ll run out to the mound, too, to settle down a pitcher if needed. He’s just another motivator on this team.

“Coach told me last year that I could be a leader on this team,” Tolbert said. “So, I had to look at people on this team like Kaleb (Owens) and Payton — leaders on the team — as examples. As one of the three or four juniors on the team, you really have to step it up for your age group.”

Added Tolbert, about the pitching effort of Cox, “Throwing the way he did in a big game - it’s the biggest game he’s ever pitched. That’s amazing. We had people stepping up on the field everywhere.”

Not to be overlooked is the play of Braxton Patton in left field. He made two plays last Friday night that got a loud roar from the local fans - a diving catch on the warning track in left field in the fourth inning and then another catch on a fly ball down the third base line (in the sixth inning) that nearly went foul.

“Braxton’s been doing that all year,” Owens said. “I don’t think he has an error yet in the outfield. He’s just a dog and runs stuff down - you don’t get much past him.”

Number 8 hitter Peyton Anders, the starting shortstop, jump-started the Easley offense in the second inning with a 2-run single against the Warriors. Anders finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored.

“I had runners on second and third - move ‘em and score ‘em - and it was an 0-2 count, and an outside pitch,” Anders said. “I just punched it the other way (opposite field). I just did what I could to put the ball in play and it got us rolling.”