More to celebrate at Decatur Heritage: Two baseball players sign to play at the next level
May 10—Decatur Heritage hopes to do some celebrating this week and next during the baseball state playoffs.
The Eagles got a good warm-up celebration in the books Monday when two players made their college plans official.
Pitcher Cole O'Brien signed with Columbia State Community College in Columbia, Tennessee. Catcher Nash Rippen signed with Wallace State-Hanceville.
Both of them will be in the starting lineup Thursday when Decatur Heritage visits Mars Hill in a Class 2A semifinal matchup.
"I'm so proud of both these young men," Decatur Heritage coach Steve Meek said. "They've worked hard and certainly deserve the opportunity they are getting."
O'Brien, a right-hander, is 7-3 on the season, including 3-0 in Game 1 of three playoff series that have all been sweeps. In 19 playoff innings, he's struck out 23 while giving up just 11 hits and four earned runs.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity," O'Brien said. "It's something I've wanted for a long time. It's a great junior college program and it's not too far from home."
When O'Brien is not on the mound, he stars in center field for the Eagles. In the playoffs, he's 7-of-18 with nine RBIs, six runs scored, two home runs, one triple and two doubles.
"The coaches at Columbia are signing me to pitch, but they've said that once I get on campus they will give me the opportunity to swing the bat for them," O'Brien said.
One key to O'Brien's success on the mound is because of Rippen, who is his catcher. They have been a pitcher/catcher combination for years.
"Having someone as dependable as Nash behind the plate is a big confidence booster for any pitcher," O'Brien said. "You are not afraid to throw any pitch because you know he can keep it in front of him."
Rippen can also help out his pitcher by driving in runs. He's hit 12 home runs this season, including three in the playoffs, and driven in 41 runs. Teams fear his power so much that he's been walked 10 times in the six playoff games.
"When we were 9 or 10, I remember us talking about playing college baseball," Rippen said. "He's really worked hard to get where he is today. I just know that Cole is going to do some great things at Columbia and move on to a DI school in a year or two."
Because they are signing with junior colleges, they could both move up to a NCAA Division I or II program or even pro baseball after one or two seasons. They could even be teammates again somewhere.
