CALEDONIA — Josh Pitts tried to discuss his decision to pitch for Bevill State Community College on his own, but Merritt Grace was having none of it.
Days shy of her first birthday, Merritt Grace made it very clear she intended to help her dad with the interview, voicing her displeasure at being left out and starting to crawl across the hall toward him outside the Caledonia High School library.
But once safely in Pitts’ arms, she allowed him to speak uninterrupted on Friday morning about how he chose to pitch for the Bears.
“I know the coach,” Pitts said. “It’s a great place, and they play great baseball over there, and that’s where I’ll be for the next two years.”
The proximity of the campus played a part in his decision.
“When I walked into my senior year, I really didn’t think about going to college because I’ve got my daughter and I’ve got my family at the house,” said Pitts, who said he considered Itawamba Community College and Mississippi Delta Community College. “But (BSCC coach Travis) Garner gave me a good offer, and I accepted it.”
Pitts’ parents were pleased with his decision.
“It’s a good school, and I’ve known a lot of people that have gone there,” said Heather Smith, Pitts’ mom.
“We’ve always seen an amazing talent in him, a raw talent,” stepfather Brian Smith said. “We believed in him from day one.
We never really pushed it on him, we just allowed him to develop as he’s seen fit.
“I think that benefited him, having the support around him and letting him make the decision.”
That family support will come in handy as Pitts goes to college and plays baseball with a 1-year-old daughter.
“I’ve done a lot of things with her in my life so far, so I don’t think it will be that hard,” he said.
Despite his height — he’s listed online at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds — Pitts does not come across as intimidating, especially with Mary Grace in his arms. Don’t be fooled.
“I’m a different person when I step on the mound,” he said. “When I walk between the white lines, it’s very personal to me. I do it for my family, and I do it for her.”
What he’s been doing lately is dominating opposing hitters. In his past five starts covering 28 1/3 innings, Pitts has struck out 43. Even in the one start in which he struggled some, on March 24 against Corinth, when he allowed five earned runs while pitching into the sixth inning, he struck out 11 while walking only two.
That’s why despite the fact Pitts is a strong hitter — he’s batting .500 over his past 10 games, including 9 for 13 with a double, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs in his past four — Bevill State is bringing him in as a pitcher.
“I told them, when I get there, I just want to pitch,” Pitts said. “I don’t want to step in the box.”
Pitts said he has been playing baseball since he was 5 (Mom says 4), and he also played soccer for a while. “He was good at that, too,” Heather Smith said. “But baseball is his first love.”
When it comes to sports, anyway.
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