MOULTRIE – The preseason work is already underway for the new Colquitt County High baseball season, and on Wednesday there was a look at a portion of the strong 2018 Packer senior class under head coach Tony Kirkland.

For the 51st and 52nd time in his coaching career, Kirkland saw players sign college letters of intent. That number could increase even more before the school term ends, but for now the day belonged to shortstop/pitcher Gavin Patel and pitcher Cory Newsome. They jointly signed to play for Gordon State College’s two-year program in Barnesville.

Kirkland said both of these seniors made the Georgia Top 100, Patel for playing on Team Georgia in Oklahoma last summer and Newsome for his showing at the workout held at Valdosta State University.

When talking about all those players from the past and those he has on his team now, Kirkland said they are all special people. Then, sometimes there are relationships that exceed the normal level, and the coach said that’s the case with Patel and Newsome.

The Packer coach holds nothing back, though, in saying that Patel is the best shortstop in the state. From watching Patel’s work fielding that position, it is hard to argue against the claim. As a junior – the second year he started for the Packers – Patel made 52 assists to seven errors out of 93 chances, started eight double plays, and recorded a fielding percentage of .925.

It’s at the plate where Patel could really explode as a senior. And that’s coming off a .305 hitting season with 25 safeties and 14 RBI in 30 games. He played in 24 games as a sophomore and drove home one run on nine hits.

But also last season, Kirkland was in need of pitching depth and turned to Patel as a middle reliever. It was a brand-new experience for Patel, but he was no liability in his 11 appearances where he won two games, struck out 18 batters in 18 innings and had a 1.94 earned run average.

When asked if Patel’s pitching days were done going into a new season, Kirkland said they are not, because Patel proved to be too good not to use him on the mound. It’s just a matter of finding a reliable shortstop to take his place when he’s pitching.

“I got to watch the young man blossom into a player that even I didn’t know he was,” said Kirkland. “Excellent character. Excellent leadership skills. Wonderful family.”

From a physical standpoint, Patel’s made even greater strides, and Kirkland said there’s still more room for development. That’s something Patel will be able to do more, the coach said, in a college program like Gordon State.

“Gavin was a lot smaller, a lot weaker (as a sophomore),” said Kirkland.

In Newsome, Kirkland has a pitcher who simply wants the baseball. Don’t tell him the situation, just give him that baseball. Kirkland said Newsome’s even the type who doesn’t follow what’s going on in his sport outside of his own game, such as who won the World Series or how the team in Atlanta (whatever it’s called) is doing. Just give him the ball.

Most of the time, Kirkland will have a junior-senior varsity roster, but not only did Patel break that up two seasons ago for the Packers, so did Newsome.

“I would love to take a lot of credit for Cory,” said Kirkland. Instead, he deferred to a former assistant who is now his boss. He said Greg Tillery one day took the pitcher who had the typical overhand delivery and topped 80 mph to the bullpen. The result was a new style that gave the Packers a closer for varsity games, and not just any games but crucial games, playoff games.

Tillery, in attendance as athletic director, would state that it wasn’t his idea, but that he saw Newsome throwing sidearm in a game and wanted to see him work on it during practice. “He did it on his own,” Tillery said.

“Bulldog mentality,” said Kirkland. “Doesn’t know jack about baseball. Doesn’t care. It’s just ‘give me the ball.’ That’s what he’s going to tell you. That’s the mentality as a coach we love. You don’t have to worry about, ‘You’ve got a runner at second, a runner at third. Two outs.’ ‘Give me the ball.’ That’s what turned him into being one of the aces of our staff.

“He’s had to overcome some adversity and did it with humility, exactly the way a young man’s got to do it. When there could have been a lot of other opportunities, a lot of other distractions, he didn’t choose that route.”