NEW HOPE — New Hope High School senior Chance West is not an imposing figure on the baseball mound, or anywhere else. 

But the job of a pitcher is not to scare people, however much that can come in handy. His job is to get outs, and West does it well enough to earn a shot at playing at the next level.

West made his choice of East Mississippi Community College official on Wednesday during a brief ceremony at the high school. 

“It’s always been a dream,” West said of playing in college. “I’ve always been doubted for my size. I’ve worked really hard, and I feel like I deserve it.”

Perhaps it was those doubts about his size — he is listed at 5 feet, 9 inches on one website — led to the one area in which West has grown the most over the past four years.

“The confidence thing,” he said. “I used to not be very confident, but now every time I go out on the mound I feel pretty confident,” West said.

But West has been playing since before he started school, and he has pitched “since I could pitch,” he said.

“I have about an 80 mph fast ball, but my best pitch is probably my curveball,” he said. “I started working on it a few years ago, and it’s been snapping good the last couple of years.”

“His fastball is 79, 80, 81, and he’s got a good breaking ball that keeps them in check,” New Hope baseball coach Lee Boyd said. “When his breaking ball is really working it makes his fastball look quicker, and he’s added a changeup which tails away from most high school right-handers. Those three pitches, when he commands all three, he’s tough.”

The curve being is best pitch might just be his ticket to finding a place for himself on the EMCC pitching staff, Boyd said. 

“He’ll come in and throw strikes,” Boyd said. “There are a lot of hard-throwing right-handers at the JUCO level. You bring him in for an inning or so, and it kind of throws them off balance, and I think that’s what they’ll use him for.”

West isn’t concerned about that just yet; his plan for the next step is very straightforward.

“I plan on going down there, just give it my all and throw strikes,” he said. 

The Lions are 14-9, 9-1 in the MACCC, and are riding an eight-game winning streak. Boyd thinks Scooba is a good fit for his left-hander.

“We’ve sent a lot of guys to East MIssissippi,” said Boyd, who said West is the Trojans’ fifth college signee this year. “It’s close, and we’re glad he has the opportunity to go there. It’s a good spot for him.”

West certainly thinks so, and the Lions were the first college program to be interested in him.

“They were the first, the most and the only,” he said. 

Boyd firmly believes EMCC coach Bret Kimbrel will be pleased he found West before anyone else did.

“Over the past couple of years he’s put some more velocity on his fastball, and his breaking ball is a little sharper,” Boyd said. “And one of the biggest things he’s working on is his pickoff move, and that’s really helped him as well.”

West’s mom, Sara, said her son’s GPA is in the 3.6-3.7 range, something she is more proud of than his baseball accomplishments. But in addition to his athletic and academic promise, Boyd said West brings another important element to his future team.

“Chance is a wonderful kid, good teammate, does a good job for us in the pitching role but also as a reserve outfielder and a courtesy runner,” Boyd said. “He understands his role, buys into it and does a good job.

“I’ll miss him.” 

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