Summerville duo ready to take Carolina together
South Carolina baseball is no stranger to Summerville talent. Right now, TJ Hopkins is making a name for himself when he plays and certainly looks like a big-time player going forward.
But the Summerville connection’s about to get a lot stronger when next year’s recruiting class makes it to campus. The 2016 class is home to two right-handed pitchers from Summerville: Sawyer Bridges and Wilson Beattie.
Both have been dominant this season on the mound, helping lead Summerville to the state championship. During their three years on varsity together, they’ve become close friends off the field as well.
“They take care of one another, and that’s good for them,” Summerville Head Coach Banks Faulkner said. “They get out here early every day and do their little routine, their arm care stuff. They keep each other in check.”
Sawyer introduced Wilson to an arm-care routine he learned playing for his summer baseball team, the Evoshield Canes. They do the workout together and off the field they go out after games together as well as hunt and fish in their downtime.
“Wilson and I hang out a lot, we've been good friends since freshman year,” Sawyer said. “When he was interested in South Carolina and the coaches were interested in him I was excited for him, it's a really good feeling to know that you'll have a chance to play with kids at the next level that you've played with for a long time before.”
And next year, along with throwing off the same mound at Founders Park, they can add roommates to the list of things they’ve done together.
“He’s going to be my roommate,” Wilson said. “I like the idea of going to school and rooming with my friend and teammate. It makes the whole process a little bit easier to get into.”
Both pitchers are power arms, throwing in the low-to-mid 90s with their fastball and blow the ball past hitters. Sawyer is ranked second-overall righty in South Carolina and threw a complete game last week in the first of two games Summerville won to take the Lower State championship.
Wilson notched a no-hitter May 11 in the high school playoffs.
Wilson didn’t used to have the high-velocity pitching, but made a weight increase this season that he said contributed to his jump. That is something he said could help him at the next level.
“I made a velocity jump in the last half year and I see myself doing it again,” he said. “I honestly just hope that if there’s anyway I can contribute to the team, I’ll be happy to do it if they see fit.”
Sawyer, who has received some attention from professional scouts, has a fastball topping out around 93 miles per hour and has a 6-1 record this season. With the weekend or midweek rotation still not set for the upcoming season, Sawyer says he hopes he can fit in in anyway possible.
Where is still uncertain, but what is known is he’ll be doing it with a current, and future, teammate.
“I just hope I can get some playing time and help them win,” Sawyer said. “That’s the goal, to go up there and play, more so win games. Whatever I can do to contribute and win games, that’s what I want to do.”
