The over $5,700 in donations raised this week to help pay for the players to get to Mobile via a GoFundMe campaign only reinforces that.
“It hurt bad to let my team down, to let the town down. Coming back with this season, it means a lot to me,” he said. “Seeing the community band together with all the donations, it meant a lot. They haven’t given up on us and I’m not going to give up on myself.”
On paper, Pizer is the No. 2 starter behind AJ Reid. But Pizer pitched the state championship game and threw a one-hit shutout in the Ohio Valley Regional final to clinch the trip to Alabama.
“I want the ball but I don’t always expect to get the ball because we have AJ. He’s our guy and he’ll be big for us in the World Series but I always want the ball in a big situation,” Pizer said.
Putting Pizer on the hill allows Highland to keep Reid at shortstop, where he was Wabash College’s Gold Glove award winner as a freshman. That, combined with Scheidt’s range in center field, gives Highland a big advantage with it’s defense up the middle.
Scheidt said he takes a lot of pride in that. He and Reid will continue that glovework together for Wabash next spring.
“(Reid) is obviously one of the best baseball players I’ve ever played with,” Scheidt said. “I know if a groundball’s hit to him, it’s pretty much a guaranteed out. I hope he thinks the same way about me.”