Two cousins who are pitchers at CB Aycock High choose State/UNC

http://www.wilsondaily.com/sports/Schools/300837496005618.php

11/17/2006 1:23:26 PM

Quote :

"Pitchers Davis, Sasser headed to rival colleges By Paul Durham Assistant Sports Editor PIKEVILLE — As friends, cousins and teammates, Garrett Davis and Grant Sasser share similarities that can be defined by their differences. Fittingly, the pair of Charles B. Aycock High seniors shared a special day Wednesday by making official their intentions to play college baseball. Sasser, a left-handed pitcher, confirmed a year-old verbal commitment to N.C. State University while right-hander Davis signed with the University of North Carolina. Their signatures on letters of intent to the respective Atlantic Coast Conference institutions mark an end and a beginning for the Golden Falcons duo. OVERCOMING SERIOUS INJURIES Each player has had to deal with a potentially career-crippling injury over the past eight months and each will play a major role in the fortunes of CBA baseball this spring. "I'm just very proud of them," Aycock baseball head coach Charles Davis said. "They've worked hard for me and my main concern is to get both of them healthy." Sasser, the son of Sam and Winnie Sasser of Fremont, suffered a strained ultracollateral ligament in his pitching arm last spring. His season ended before Aycock won the 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference regular-season title, then lost to eventual state champion D.H. Conley in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs. "It was bad seeing us go as far as we did and not be able to help," Sasser said. "Then I went to (American) Legion and I was just sitting on the bench the whole time." Davis went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee early in Wayne County American Legion Post 11's season. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound son of Gary and Cindy Davis of Fremont saw not only his baseball career put on hold but his standout soccer career at CBA ended. What hurt the most was having to watch from the bench. "As much as I love to play sports, I'm not one that loves to go watch sports," Davis insisted. "I hate sitting in the dugout and watching; I hate sitting on the bench even if I am hurt." The second cousins each had to work hard to rehabilitate himself while dealing with a seemingly uncertain future. But each player's prospective team was quick to reassure Sasser and Davis they were still in demand. "(The injury) got me scared but it made me feel better when they still wanted me even though I tore my ACL," Davis said of UNC. Sasser added: "We got a bunch of help from the trainer (at State) ... I did my physical therapy in Goldsboro but we went up there first and talked to them." Sasser and Davis discovered each got different results from their rehab workouts. "Since Legion (season) got done I'm just trying to stay in shape and ended up losing weight," said the 6-0 Sasser, who is down to a lean 175 pounds. Unable to run until his knee healed, Davis found himself adding pounds. "Since I haven't played soccer, I've gained weight which is good," Davis said. "I've wanted to gain weight. I've been working out more and trying to stay in shape." Both players are ahead of their workout schedules and expect to be in full swing come baseball season. TEAMMATES TO RIVALS The difference in training results underscore a list of slight variations in the second cousins who have played baseball together for almost all their lives. They have played on the same team since Babe Ruth League, when they were on separate teams but on the same field. "Regardless of what team they've played on, they've always played together," Winnie Sasser pointed out. Now the long-time teammates will find themselves in rival dugouts. Interestingly, neither player signed with the school for which there was a prior fan affiliation. "I'm a big Duke fan and he's a big State fan so it's kind of funny how it went," Sasser said. The duo attracted offers from other Division I programs such as Clemson, East Carolina, UNC Wilmington, Virginia and South Carolina. Sasser said he bonded with the staff at State almost instantly while Davis had some insight into the UNC program, which finished second in the College World Series last June. Davis' cousin and former CBA star Rob Wooten is a current member of the Tar Heels. "I went up to Carolina and of course Rob was up there so I've been up there a lot and talked to the coaches," Davis said. Charles Davis said Sasser and Davis will be the fourth and fifth Div. I signees in his 17 years at CBA. MOUND STYLES DIFFER While both pitchers have had lots of success, they have completely different styles on the mound. "I'm a power pitcher; I walk more and strike out more," said Davis, whose fastball has been clocked in the mid 90s. "They tell you to get ground balls and get outs but I don't like doing that; I just like trying to strike 'em out." Conversely, Sasser hits his spots with less velocity but has a four-pitch arsenal, including a hard-to-hit cutter. "It's good to get strikeouts but I like to stick around the plate more and throw strikes," Sasser said. "Of course, I don't have a fastball as fast as his but I try to use my other pitches to work around the batters and get 'em out any way I can." Sasser was 5-0 with a 0.00 earned run average before his injury last spring at CBA. In two varsity seasons, Sasser has 101 strikes in 76 1/3 innings. Davis has posted an 11-3 mark in two years along with 134 strikouts in 98 2/3 innings. As members of the National Honor Society, both young men have excelled in the classroom as well. Davis said he is thinking about a career in physical therapy while Sasser is mulling engineering or landscaping at State. THE NEXT LEVEL The duo is aware the atmosphere at a nationally ranked collegiate program will be much more intense than in high school. "It's going to be a whole lot different because you're the best down here but when you get up there, they're all the same and some are even better," Davis said. Sasser noted the academic obligations will be more rigid as well. But the biggest difference is that they'll be going to separate schools. Though neither Sasser nor Davis would admit it, Winnie Sasser said it best: "They're going to miss each other, probably, next year." "

11/17/2006 1:24:13 PM

the davis kid looks like a tool

go figure

11/17/2006 1:25:06 PM

I remember CB Aycock in high school. They've always been a baseball/wrestling powerhouse. We crushed them in football though

11/17/2006 1:27:55 PM

they are decent guys, decent pitchers

there were twins at CBA awhile back that were gonna do the same

The Sassers, Dustin and Derrick

but one kept playin the other didnt, he ended up at ECU and starts for them now.

Wayne county has had some good prospects lately, thats where I am from...never faced these kids.

11/17/2006 1:29:07 PM

Aycock always has cock diesel pitchers for some reason

11/17/2006 2:00:39 PM

its the nature of the area.

we have had plenty of good guys come out of the area due to good coaching and development. When you grow up just playing baseball(thats all is really taught to us) then you are naturally good. Not to mention places like ECAP being right down the road.

its just the competitive nature of the area, kids, coaches and general schools.

I hate that my old school southern wayne has the coach they have now, we had Whitfield for forever and he was one of the greatest high school baseball coaches in the state.

11/17/2006 2:03:46 PM

I dated a CB Aycock cheerleader back in the day. Man, I would have gone there just for the girls if I could. I loved them country damsels.

11/17/2006 2:08:25 PM

who was it?

11/17/2006 2:11:09 PM

i dated one too.

There girls put ours to absolute shame over a/b Beddingfield

11/17/2006 2:13:41 PM

wtf, names gents

11/17/2006 2:18:36 PM

AHAHAH, you went to Beddingfield?

Her name was Jennifer. I forgot her last name. We only dated a few times.

I almost hooked up with a volleyball chick there but some dumb psycho-cunt bitch from my school called her and told her that she was pregnant with my baby. I haven't talked to that bitch since.

11/17/2006 2:19:49 PM

wilson has a newspaper?

11/17/2006 2:20:05 PM

yea, man. Wide Awake is bigtime now.

11/17/2006 2:20:39 PM

dont hate on beddingfield man hahaha

i am a more ghetto person b/c of it

11/17/2006 2:24:40 PM

don't worry, I dated a girl from Beddingfield too. She was kind of stuck up though. Her last name was Mintern.

I used to lifeguard at the Reid Street Community Center and the White Rec pool back in the day so I was cool with most of the Fike/Beddingfield peeps.

[Edited on November 17, 2006 at 2:31 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2006 2:28:34 PM

hahaha did her first name start with a T or B

11/17/2006 2:32:41 PM

yes, i think it was Trina or something like that.

11/17/2006 2:33:24 PM

hahaha yeah i knew her but not that great

and yeah Reid Street is ghetto as all

11/17/2006 2:36:16 PM

everybody called me "White-Out" there.

11/17/2006 2:39:40 PM