CCC&TI sends its Cobras off to World Series

May 27—HUDSON — A crowd gathered in the gym at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI) Friday (May 27) morning to send off the Cobras baseball team as it prepared to head Greeneville, Tennessee to battle for NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series title, its first bid despite only a three-year program.

The Cobras are slated to play against the St. Cloud Technical and Community College St. Cloud Cyclones in the opening round on Saturday, May 28 at Pioneer Park in Greeneville, Tennessee at 4:30 p.m.

"We are leaving here today to represent Caldwell Community College and Caldwell County and all the people that have supported us since we started three years ago," said coach Frank Pait.

The News-Topic had the opportunity to interview Pait, Seth Willis, pitcher, and Michael Logan, centerfielder, to get insight on the team's thoughts about heading to the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series.

"I think these guys have earned the opportunity — they played well all year, won 42 out of 43 — so, this is a reward for playing well," said Pait.

"We talk about being here in August and getting to this point, so it's kind of surreal to get to this point. So, here we are, getting the opportunity to get on a bus and go there and play," he added. "I'm just really happy for the players. I love watching them celebrate and love watching them get the attention they deserve."

Just three years old, the CCC&TI Cobras went from being an emerging baseball team to Region 10 champions and automatic qualifiers for the NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series facing off against more seasoned teams.

"All seven teams, besides us, have all been to the World Series before, they have had this experience," said Pait. "I also think that maybe not having the experience may help us. I think the way we play, and what we have done, they just go in and do their own thing — we play better when we don't know who the opponent is. So for us, the unknown has been nice and hopefully that's what will happen on Saturday."

Pait said one of the team's strengths is its competitive nature.

"It's probably the most competitive group of young men I've ever coached," said Pait. "They don't even like to lose in pick-up basketball."

But, on the field they are a unified force.

"They pretty much play for each other and they have pretty much given up being an individual to play for each other, so it's really cool to see," said Pait.

Right-hander Willis has been with the Cobras since it started. Willis is from Vale and played for West Lincoln High School. According to CCC&TI stats, he has a 10-2 season, with one save on the season. He placed among the top players in the nation in wins (10, tied for 1st in the nation); starts (13, tops in the nation), and strikeouts (84, 8th in the nation). Willis had an ERA of 2.42.

"I'm excited to go. I think it is going to be a good opportunity for our team to show who we are. It's really huge for this program," said Willis. "Me and Mike (Logan) came here whenever it started, three years ago, so just to see it come to fruition is really awesome."

Wilis said one of the team's strengths is its offense.

"We can hit the ball better than I've ever seen," said Willis. "Our defense is good, too, and our pitching is pretty strong. We've got a good 'one-two punch,' plus, we have good relievers. But, definitely it's our hitting — we can out hit anybody."

Logan, centerfielder, is from Morganton, and played for Freedom High School. According to CCC&TI stats, he hit .336 on the season, with 41 RBIs. Logan was also selected for the "All Defensive Team."

Logan has played all three years with the Cobras.

"I'm excited. I think everybody is excited," said Logan, as he talked about the significance of going to the series after the rough end to last year's conference game tournament.

Logan reiterated the team's ability to hit the ball as a primary strength.

"It's definitely hitting. We hit real well. We hit just about anybody," said Logan. "Defense has definitely come a long way and we're really going to need defense.

"I think if we play our game, it should go well for us," he added.

CCC&TI President Mark Poarch was at the send off to support the team, wearing his "Cobra Colors."

"We're just super proud of our players and coaches and what this team has meant to our college and our community," said Poarch.

Poarch said launching a baseball team at CCC&TI was an opportunity to create excitement for the college and community and to create opportunities for local and regional talent.

"It has been a vision for a long time to have baseball at Caldwell Community College," said Poarch. "Caldwell County has been a hotbed for baseball for many, many years and there has been a lot of great talent that came out of Caldwell County and the surrounding region."

In addition to the players, the college put together a team of talented professionals to lead the team.

"It's all about having the right people in place," said Poarch. "We hired the right guy with Frank Pait, and we've got the right guy in Jeff Link as our athletic director."

Poarch said it took partnerships and community support and expressed gratitude to Lenoir Mayor Joe Gibbons and to the local school system for allowing the players to play at Walker Stadium and to utilize the fields.

"It has been pretty surreal to think that just a couple of years ago we were having conversations with our board and with people in our community about this idea," said Poarch. "It has been a pretty remarkable and certainly a surreal feeling for me to see it all come together."

"It started with our board sharing the vision and being willing to say, 'Yes' to the vision of having championship baseball here."

The 2022 NJCAA DIII Baseball World Series will be broadcast live on the NJCAA Network and will be available to view on-demand. The NJCAA Network is available through a variety of pay-per-view pricing options:

— Day Pass — $10

— Tournament Pass — $25

— Championship Game — $5

For more information visit njcaa.org/network.