They couldn’t field a team last year. This year, Carver baseball is back — with joy
After not having enough players to field a team last season, Carver High School will play its first official baseball game Monday in two years.
Players credit their new coach, Michael Long, for reviving the program.
Carver junior first baseman and catcher Deandre Pridgett appreciates Long’s patience with the players.
“He stays calm, stays collected,” Pridgett, 16, told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Pridgett was one of only 10 players on the team as a freshman two years ago. The 2020 season was cut short with a 1-4 record in March, when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Then the Tigers had only five players on the roster by the time Long was hired in December.
Long’s recruiting efforts — talking to prospects in the hallways between classes, making announcements over the intercom, posting a sign-up sheet — has increased the roster to 21 players. Carver now has enough players for a full season of varsity and junior varsity games.
“They’re putting in the work, day in and day out, to get better,” Long said.
Long estimated three-fourths of his players never had been on a baseball team.
“They’re starting to put more pride into,” he said. “They’re loving the game. … I’m very thankful and blessed to be here.”
‘It was just amazing’
The Tigers will host Marion County in Monday’s season opening, starting at 5:30 p.m. They got a sense of what that game might feel like when they hosted a scrimmage Tuesday against Chattahoochee County.
“It was nerve-racking,” said Carver sophomore pitcher and center fielder Jamal Claiborne, 15, who started on the mound Tuesday and is scheduled to be there again Monday. “I did good, but I didn’t do may best. I know I can do better, and it’s going to be better.”
Fans filled the bleacher seats and stood along the sidelines, boosting the players’ spirit.
“It was lined up all the way from the fence to the concession stand,” Pridgett said. “It was just amazing.”
With that kind of support, he said, “I know I’ve got these people behind my back, so I’m just going to go out here and give it my all. … I just love the fact that we’re building something and I get to be a part of it.”
That’s the vision Long has for the program: to improve in some way each day.
“We’re laying that foundation now,” Long said. “We’re going to trust the process. … We’re just going to continue to try to climb.”
The turnout at Tuesday’s scrimmage was a super start.
“To see that big of a crowd, it almost felt like a playoff-type atmosphere,” Long said. “It was very heartwarming to see. That’s a testament to what these boys are doing.”
Long was hired in December after graduating from Columbus State University with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He was a volunteer assistant coach at ChattCo last season and previously at Pacelli while he was in college. He attended Russell County High School and graduated from Smiths Station High School in 2015.
“My teaching job doesn’t stop when I hit this field,” said Long, a special-education teacher. “… I try to give a lot of life lessons.”
Such as discipline, respect and leadership.
“When these kids graduate from high school and go off to college or go get a job,” he said, “some of the things they do out here will translate.”
Claiborne described Long as a motivational coach and a hard worker.
“He just makes sure you get the job done,” Claiborne said. “He don’t let nobody get down. If you mess up, he’s going to make sure you go again until you get it right.”
Assistance from Calvary Christian
Steve Smith, head coach of the Calvary Christian School baseball program, which has won three straight state championships, contacted Long and offered his team’s expertise and manual labor to help the Tigers prepare their field. Calvary also donated equipment to Carver.
“As you can see, our field looks so much better,” Long said. “I give them a lot of credit. … Coach Smith is a first-class guy, and he runs a first-class program. . . . It was about two teams on the opposite sides of the city getting together and creating a bond, a bond they can enhance from here.”
Honoring late coach David Pollard
Six years ago, Carver head baseball coach David Pollard died from injuries sustained in a three-car crash caused by the driver of a stolen vehicle.
“After he passed away, the program just kind of went downhill, Pridgett said. “We haven’t been able to get back on that same step, but we’ve got Coach Long here, so we’re going to try.”
The last full season of baseball, in 2019, the Tigers won only one of their 19 games. They were 2-21 in 2018, 4-25 in 2017 and 5-17 in 2016. According to MaxPreps, their best varsity record since 2008 is 5-6 in 2013.
That’s why Pridgett won’t define this season solely based on the team’s record.
“Success to me is that everybody is having fun and learning something in the game,” he said.
Although he didn’t know Pollard, Long said he thinks of the coach every time he steps on the field, which is dedicated to him.
Long said he’s trying to get one of Pollard’s relatives to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Monday’s season opener. Fittingly, it will be Valentine’s Day.
“We’ve got to honor him,” Long said. “… If we can use that extra motivation, I promise you: He’s going to look down on us and be happy.”
HOW TO HELP
A fundraising account at GoFundMe.com has been established to help the team pay for uniforms, equipment, field maintenance and umpires to rebuild the program. As of Friday morning, $565 dollars was raised from 16 donors since Jan. 13 toward the $5,000 goal.
