South Brunswick senior baseball player Walker Jenkins displayed his skills throughout the Cougars’ 2023 season. But some of the memorable and revealing moments occurred other than when he was in the batter’s box.
Opening Day
Most South Brunswick baseball fans have two questions about the 2023 team.
The first is whether the team can return to the state championship series.
The Cougars finished second last season in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A state playoffs. The two starting pitchers from that team have graduated, so the first games of the 2023 season will be telling about how deep this pitching staff is and whether the Cougars can return to the state championship series. That question will be settled by late May.
The second question is about senior center fielder Walker Jenkins: Which team will select him in the first round of Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft?
Jenkins gained national prominence as a member of USA Baseball. In 2022, 20 USA Baseball alumni were selected in the first round of the draft, including No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday. Will Jenkins be among the former USA Baseball players taken in the first round this year? That question will be settled July 9.
One person who most likely has thought about both questions is Christopher Sotriffer, the Cougars’ head coach this season. But on Opening Day on March 1, he is focused on getting his team ready to play East Bladen, which won its opener the previous day 10-0. Sotriffer runs infield practice, and he expects the practice to run smoothly. But the players are hesitant. Throws are wide or high. Players’ interests are elsewhere. After the 10-minute session, Sotriffer gathers the players along the foul line in right field. He disciplines them for their sloppy practice and uncaring attitude. The tirade startles the players, a what-was-that-for? slap. The Cougars refocus and a few hours later win their opener in five innings, 19-0.
“See ya”
Two sounds signify a home run.
The first is the bat contacting the ball, the proverbial crack of the bat.
The second is the solitary fan yelling, “See ya.” One fan always has to be the first to alert everyone about the obvious, much like the concertgoer who has to be the first to applaud and yell “Bravo” as the final note of a concert fades.
Jenkins’ first home run of the season — a three-run home run to right field — comes in the Cougars’ fifth game, March 15, against the 0-4 Dixon Bulldogs. Home plate is a foul ball away from the South Brunswick concession stand. At the concession stand, the contact of the bat on the ball during Jenkins’ home run swing is audible — as is the Cougar fan yelling, “See ya.”
South wins 18-2 in five innings.
“Is that him?”
As baseball practice on March 16 ends, Jenkins and some of his teammates walk along a path that borders the six asphalt lanes of South Brunswick’s track. Jenkins is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. He can hit for average and he can hit with power. But he also is quick. It would be interesting to see him run the 4x100-meter relay, handing the baton to a teammate. Jenkins’ speed is one of the attributes baseball scouts like. And whenever Jenkins gets on base, he looks to steal.
The path on which Jenkins and his teammates are walking passes the start-finish line of the track, where a four-team track meet is underway. At the start-finish line, one of the track assistants whispers to another, “Is that him?”
“Yes,” she is told. “The tall one.”
A few minutes later, the girls’ 100-meter dash for three Unified athletes begins. To applause, they finish in 19.34, 25.74 and 25.84 seconds. A coach meets one of the athletes, who begins to cry, frustrated about how she ran. She leaves the track unnoticed by nearly all the other athletes.
“Walker, I love you”
The Cougars play their first home game of the conference season on Friday, March 17, against New Hanover. The two teams finished the 2022 conference season 11-3 and tied for first.
The game attracts a large crowd and some fans stand outside the left field fence. In the top of the second inning, a Cougar fan at the fence shouts to Jenkins in center field, “Walker, I love you.”
In the next inning, Jenkins gives that fan and others a reason for the admiration. With one out, a Wildcat batter lofts the ball toward center field. At first it appears the ball might carry, but it begins to plummet in front of Jenkins. He dives to try to catch ball and snags it in the glove on his left hand before he hits the ground. A photo of the catch is posted on Twitter. Someone comments, “Routine.”
The shift
The New Hanover coach was voted conference coach of the year last season, and he has a defensive plan for when Jenkins bats: the shift.
“I thought that was illegal,” a Cougar ballplayer says as the Wildcats leave third base unguarded and move a player into short right-center to defend against the left-handed hitting Jenkins. The shift was declared illegal this season in Major League Baseball but is allowed in high school baseball. The shift, however, makes no difference in this at-bat: Jenkins is hit by a pitch.
The game is as good as anticipated. The score is 0-0 after the regulation seven innings. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, a Cougar batter is hit by a pitch and Grady Sotriffer singles. Jenkins is the next batter, and with runners on second and first, the shift is no option. Jenkins is intentionally walked, loading the bases. Jordan Daniels comes to bat and he hits a grounder toward the shortstop, who bobbles the ball as Jenkins slides safe into second and the winning run scores. Cougar ballplayers rush from the dugout to celebrate. One player sprints along the first base line to celebrate with Daniels. Everyone else runs toward second base to celebrate with Jenkins.
Jenkins’ homer; Davis’ 14 Ks
Like the baseball team, South Brunswick’s softball team is contending for a conference title and a spot in the playoffs. It also has a star: sophomore Kina Davis. She, however, is playing in the shadow of Jenkins. The baseball and softball fields are near each other. Where the baseball right field ends, the softball left field begins. Both teams start their games about the same time. So fans have to choose whether to see Jenkins in a full game or Davis in a full game.
On March 28, the Cougar baseball and softball teams have home games against Laney. In the softball game in the bottom of the fifth inning, Davis hits a two-out run-scoring triple to right field, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Davis also is the Cougars’ starting pitcher. Through six innings, she has allowed two hits and struck out 13 batters. But Laney rallies in the top of the seventh. An error, a stolen base and a groundout have given the Bucs a runner at third with two outs.
At the baseball field, Jenkins comes to bat in the bottom of the third inning. One of the softball fans turns to watch Jenkins bat. On a 3-1 count, Jenkins hits a home run over the right field fence. The ball appears to land near the softball batting cage, just beyond left field.
“Fifteen feet to the left and that would have been in left field,” the fan says to a friend, pointing to the softball field. Jenkins, wearing his distinctive salmon-color shoes, jogs the bases as his solo home run gives the Cougars a 3-1 lead.
Moments later, Davis ends the softball game by getting a groundout. For the game, she gives up one walk and two hits. She strikes out 14.
The baseball team eventually wins 9-6. By then, everyone has left the softball field.
“He’s a freshman”
Jenkins’ baseball background — Gatorade named him North Carolina’s baseball player of the year in 2022 — is known not only by visiting coaches and pitchers but also by their spectators, especially within the county. And for them, the game is more interesting whenever Jenkins bats.
On a Friday night, March 31, home game, the Cougars are playing North Brunswick. By the bottom of the fourth inning, South is leading 5-2. With one out and a player on first, Jenkins comes to bat against Dylan Stacks, who entered in relief in the top of the inning. The count is 2-2 when Jenkins connects on a Stacks pitch and grounds out to first. As Jenkins returns to the Cougar dugout on the first-base side, Scorpion fans behind home plate cheer their pitcher and chant: “He’s a freshman … He’s a freshman … He’s a freshman …”
South, facing four Scorpion pitchers, wins 10-2. Jenkins walks three times in four at-bats, once intentionally after the count reaches 3-0. He steals two bases and scores two runs.
“Will you sign my baseball?”
On April 6, South has a home game against Topsail for first place in the Mideastern 3A/4A Conference.
About 45 minutes before the game, a man and his daughter approach the fence bordering short right field. They appear to be among the many spectators eager to watch this game. But as South completes its pregame warmups, Jenkins walks toward the youngsters where the man and his daughter are. It just so happens that the man, who owns a house on Jenkins’ hometown of Oak Island, met Jenkins at another game and asked him whether he would autograph some baseballs and photos for his daughter, who is a University of North Carolina fan. Jenkins agreed and kept his promise on this evening. When the daughter is asked what she knows about Jenkins, she repeats what her dad has told her: “He’s really good. He was going to go to Carolina, but now he’s going to go to the major leagues.”
The game is close to the end. Topsail takes a 4-3 lead on a two-out home run in the top of the seventh inning. South gets the tying run on base with two outs in the bottom of the inning and Jenkins comes to bat.
Foes have either walked or intentionally walked Jenkins 18 times through 12 games. Topsail decides to pitch to Jenkins. The game ends when Jenkins hits a soft liner to the shortstop.
Through 12 games, Jenkins is batting .538. His OBP is .745.
After the game, Jenkins signs baseballs and caps, and he poses for photos. One youngster, who arrived after the game ended, asks Jenkins — as he is signing a baseball — “Will you sign my baseball?”
“I’ll sign anything you want.”
“Did y’all win?”
“Did we win? Not this one.”
“Are you going to college?”
The Southport-Oak Island Dixie Youth Baseball Night is April 25, which is before the game between the Cougars and the Ashley Screaming Eagles. An estimated 100 youngsters up to age 12 wearing their baseball jerseys and caps, and some in full uniform, run onto the field from first base to third base. With them and their parents in attendance, this is the largest home crowd of the season.
Some of the youngsters have been to previous Cougar games, and they know where the best seats are: the chain-link fence that borders the dugout, from where the Cougars walk a couple of steps to the on-deck circle. It is as close as you can be to the players without being on the field. With Jenkins batting No. 3 in the lineup, four of the youngsters are suctioned to the fence. In his first at-bat, Jenkins hits a pop-up — and the youngsters nearest the fence leave after he returns to the dugout. They reappear when Jenkins bats in the third inning, but he walks.
In the fourth inning, with two runners on base, Jenkins lines the ball into center field. The crowd cheers. The high-pitched cheers of the youngsters — as if they are at a birthday party — are distinct from the cheers of the adults. Two runs score before Jenkins sprints to third. He slides headfirst ahead of the throw — safe. The lead is 7-3. For many, this is the most memorable hit of the game. The Cougars win 14-4 in five innings.
After the game, some youngsters remain near the chain-link fence, seeking autographs from any of the South Brunswick players. When Jenkins walks toward them, he smiles and reaches over the fence to take a baseball from a tiny hand. The 6-foot-3 Jenkins must seem like a giant to them, as many of them are barely a head taller than his waistline.
“You guys make me feel special,” he says.
“That’s because you are,” a youngster responds.
Another asks, “Are you going to college?”
“As of right now.”
Bad news, good news
The Cougars’ regular season ends May 4 in a 7-4 loss to West Brunswick. That same day, MLB.com reports its first 2023 mock draft and it projects Jenkins as the No. 4 pick, selected by the Texas Rangers. The analysis states: “Hampered by a hamate injury on the showcase circuit last summer, Jenkins has looked great this spring. He owns solid or better tools across the board and huge power potential.”
Jenkins has looked great even as teams continue to pitch around him. In the last four games of the regular season, Jenkins had five walks, with three of them intentional. He also had four hits, two of them triples.
The handshake
Despite losing seven of its final eight games, South Brunswick qualified for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A state playoffs. They are 12-9 and the No. 8 seed in the East as they open the playoffs with a home game May 9 against the Cedar Ridge Fighting Red Wolves, the No. 25 seed at 12-10.
Jenkins is batting No. 2 in the Cougar lineup, and as he comes to bat in the bottom of the first, the field umpire asks South’s first base coach what kind of season Jenkins is having.
“Been getting a lot of walks,” the umpire is told.
Through 21 games, pitchers have walked Jenkins 28 times, with 11 of those intentional.
In his first at-bat against Cedar Ridge, Jenkins walks on five pitches.
After South takes a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, it has a runner on second when Jenkins comes to bat. He is intentionally walked.
The next time Jenkins bats, the count reaches 2-1 before the coach calls time to walk to the mound to talk to his pitcher.
In the dugout, a South player asks, “Are you going to walk him again?”
The coach makes no pitching change. Jenkins grounds out. In his last at-bat, he reaches on a fielder’s choice.
The Cougars win 4-1. During the postgame handshakes, the Cedar Ridge coach talks with Jenkins. The coach has his left hand on Jenkins’ left shoulder, in the manner of a dad talking to a son. When the conversation ends, the coach shakes hands with Jenkins. The coach’s right-hand grip is firm.
Finale
So this is the game of the year: Junius H. Rose, which won state two years ago and is seeded No. 1 (22-3), against South Brunswick, second at state last year and seeded No. 8 (14-9).
Rampant coach Ronald Vincent won his 1,000th game on April 11. First-year Cougar coach Christopher Sotriffer won his fourth game on April 14.
These are two schools where baseball is prominent. Vincent has guided the Rampants to seven state championships, coming in 1975, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2021. The Cougars have won one state title, in 1988 with an unbeaten team that had future Major League Baseball player Quinton McCracken — and that ties in to the 2023 team, competing for a state title with MLB prospect Walker Jenkins.
This third-round game in the state playoffs on Tuesday, May 16, at Guy Smith Stadium in Greenville attracts a large crowd. It will be the only game to see two prominent players who have committed to the University of North Carolina: Jenkins and Rampant junior Andrew Wallen. No roster is needed to spot Wallen: He’s 6-foot-7, 220 pounds.
In Jenkins’ final swings in batting practice, he hits three balls out of the park. One of the balls rises toward the center field fence, soars over Myrtle Avenue and rattles onto the metal roof of Donnie’s Automotive Care, an estimated 425 feet from home plate.
The game is no masterpiece. Each team makes errors that allow runs to score. But the victory-clinching hit is by Wallen, as his two-out grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning gives the Rampants a 13-8 lead.
As for Jenkins, he strokes a hit to right field in his first at-bat. He is hit by a pitch in his next at-bat. He grounds out and flies out in the final two at-bats of his high school career. The season statistics: He batted .421 (24 of 57) with three doubles, two triples and two home runs. He had eight RBIs. He walked 32 times — 14 of them intentional. His OBP was .637. He stole 10 bases. He scored 32 runs.
Later that night, a Greenville TV station shows the top moments from the game but begins by showing Jenkins in the Cougars’ dugout before the game starts. “Walker Jenkins is a UNC commit,” the sports announcer says, “but MLB.com has him being drafted seventh overall in the MLB draft (in July).”
