“Streaming.”
That’s the best word to describe the flow of blood from Anthony Sharp’s nose 20 minutes prior to the Victory Christian Academy baseball team’s game against New Life Christian for the Alabama Christian Athletic Association championship. Pressure worked to stop the bleeding for a little bit, but it started again as the start of the game approached. Faced with the prospect of not being able to pitch in the biggest game of his team’s season, Sharp did what any competitor would do: He stuffed napkins and Kleenex into his nostrils to stop the bleeding.
The move eventually stopped the bleeding, but nothing could stop Victory Christian (13-4) from completing its title run. Buoyed by Sharp’s complete-game one-hitter, Victory Christian defeated New Life 6-1 on Saturday to win its second consecutive ACAA title.
“He pitches and gets them out (in the first inning) and comes in and bats cleanup and gets a hit,” Victory Christian coach Brent Harris said. “He steals second and steals third and I asked him (when he got to third), ‘Can you breathe?’ He goes, ‘Nope.’ It was amazing.”
Shane Bradford pitched a complete-game four-hitter Friday in a 4-0 victory against Tuscaloosa Christian to send Victory Christian into the title game. Bradford had a two-run hit in the first inning to help send the Eagles on their way.
Reed Fulgham hit a home run in the semifinals, while Chase Austin hit a home run in the title game. Fulgham had a two-out, two-run double to help seal the deal.
Harris and Victory Christian assistant coach Wes said Sharp has had nose bleeds in the past. This time, though, the bleeding from both nostrils was like water coming out of a faucet. Harris said Sharp had five or 10 minutes to warm up because he was trying to get the bleeding to stop. The bleeding continued for the first two innings before it stopped in the third.
“It is just perseverance,” said. “That is all he knows. He is not a quitter. That is his tempo. That is the way he plays.”
Said Harris, “That is about the craziest thing I have seen. It happened as soon as we got through with Tuscaloosa. It stopped by the time we got back to the hotel room. As soon as we got to the field that day, he stepped out of the van and it started. That is when the mamas started grabbing him and sitting him down. He was fine until the National Anthem, when it started again.”
Sharp said it took only five napkins to stop the bleeding, but teammate Bo McCrary corrected him and said, “15.” Sharp then clarified his statement when he said it was “five or six” going into the game, but it was “a lot more” before the game.
“It has happened several times like that, but it wasn’t really a big deal,” Sharp said. “I just knew I had to get something so it wouldn’t get on my jersey and they would say something.”
Sharp was as non-plussed talking about the bleeding as he was handling it before and during the game. He said he drank a bunch of water and pickle pops from the concession stand while he waited for the bleeding to stop.
Sharp said the finality of the championship, which comes on the heels of a Christian Football Association title in the fall, hasn’t hit him yet. But he said he and his classmates take pride in what they were able to bring to the football, boys basketball, and baseball teams.
“This is probably the best team I have been on,” Sharp said. “From top to bottom everybody could play. We had 11, 12, or 13 guys who could be potential starters, so there was competition, so it probably was the best baseball team I have been on.”
Victory Christian’s 1-4 start featured a split with Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A school Columbus and two losses to Mississippi Association of Independent School member Hebron Christian (Class A) and one to MAIS member Oak Hill Academy (Class AA). From there, the Eagles received contributions from up and down the lineup to close the season on a 12-game winning streak.
Fulgham, Austin, Bradford, and Sharp (MVP) were named to the all-tournament team.
Bradford said the last two victories put an exclamation point on his career.
“I knew the pitching and defense were going to be big factors in winning it all again,” Bradford said. “Last year, we had good defense and good pitching. We lost some good people, but we didn’t lose everything we had. Our hitting finally started to come around a little bit.”
Harris believed the team’s hitting would be its strength. And while the Eagles had a team batting average of .359, he admitted pitching and defense turned out to be the keys. Five pitchers recorded wins on the season and helped Victory Christian compile a 1.77 team ERA. Sharp and Bradford played the biggest roles on the mound, but Chase Gore, Brady Scarbrough, and Chase Austin each had a win.
“The pitching was really dominant all year,” Harris said. “The strikeout-to-walk ratio was like 6-to-1, so I was really proud of that.”
Sharp paced the team with a .500 batting average, 25 hits, and 18 stolen bases. He also was 6-1 with a 1.03 ERA. In 40 2/3 innings, he struck out 59 and walked 12.
Bradford, had 15 RBIs and was 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA. McCrary and Cody Bolton rounded out the senior class.
Austin (19 RBIs), Fulgham (.420, 21 hits), Beau Riley, and Chandler Honnoll made up the junior class, while Will Jones led a sophomore class that also included Scarbrough and Cole Griffith.
Jones was second on the team with a .438 average. He had 21 hits, 18 RBIs, and seven doubles, while Scarbrough had 23 RBIs and five doubles.
Gore (team-high 23 runs) and Kody Anthony were the only freshmen on the team.
Other team members are: eighth-graders Cade Stacy, Ethan Howell, and Austin Harper, and seventh-graders Brandon Moore and Houston Ballard.
“We lost four seniors from last season’s team,” Harris said. “Last year, we would come out here and scrimmage and the second team would beat the first team just as many times as the first team would win. We were that deep. We weren’t as deep this year, but, overall, we were probably better. We were more athletic and had better hitting. The lack of walks was amazing, especially for this level. Not walking people is huge when you don’t make errors.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.