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Show Carman Hurls With Authority; Leads Wildcats By DAVE WIGHAM Clipper Sports WOODS CROSS - Pitching is always a key issue in any baseball program on any level and it's especially true in the case of high school teams. The Wildcats of Woods Cross were fortunate for-tunate this past season to have Curtis Carman in one of their uniforms as the big left-handed senior was definitely a bright spot for coach Val Cullimore. AFTER REGION action Curtis had an impressive im-pressive 4-1 record on the year with an unheard of ERA of 1.13. To add to those impressive statistics that in his last three outings he had struck out a total of 33 hitters, an average of 1 1 per outing. In the Cats' win over Bountiful, Curtis struck out 1 1 Braves, his next trip to the mound he beat Viewmont by striking out 14 Vikings. Then in his lone loss, a 2-1 setback to region champs East, Curtis struck out 8 Leopards. His career stats are something to talk about as well. As a sophomore Curtis was 2-0 on the varsity level, then as a junior he went 5-2. Add to those records his 4-1 senior mark and Curtis Carman has a 11-3 record since becoming a Wildcat three years ago. THOSE ARE the type of stats that will catch the eye of some college coach who is looking for a big, he's 6' 1" "190 pounds, strong kid who just happens to be a left-hander which makes him an even more added attraction since lefties are hard to come by. With all his success, especially in the strikeout strike-out department, it would be easy for Curtis to sit back and bask in the glory yet he is the first to point out one of the big reasons for his success. suc-cess. "My catcher Todd Dyson, he's a big reason. He's doing a great job of mixing up the pitches which has kept the hitters off balance. Plus for the first time in a long time my curve ball is working" he smiled. BEFORE WE get too far into his pitching accomplishments it might be worth noting that Curtis can also swing a bat for the Cats. On occasions he's been used as a pinch hitter or the designated hitter. Curtis throws with his left but he hits from the right side, "one of my early coaches tried to get me to hit left but it didn't work out" he laughed. Curtis is actually one of those guys who simply can'tmake up his mind which side to do things from, he golfs right handed yet eats and writes with his left. Carman came up through the little league programs and it wasn't until he was 1 1 years old that someone decided to get him to pitch. Up till then he had made his name as a hard hiting first baseman but then some wise coach noted he could throw hard so they put him on the mound, and a star was born. "Not really" Curtis admitted "I really struggled at first on the mound, it wasn't until about two years later that I even became a good pitcher." HE HAS fond memories of those early days especially playing on the all-star teams with the likes of Steve Caputo and Eric Johnson, "we came within one game of going to the big tournament tour-nament in California." . In junior high Curtis played baseball two years, as an eighth gTader he was used as the designated hitter and then in the ninth grade he was the pitcher for South Davis "we only played play-ed one game a week so I threw all of them. He won all of them except the last game which Millcreek beat him 6-1 which left them in a tie for the championship. IT WAS then on to his high school career, which has had some rough moments. "Last summer I was going to play baseball but my work schedule was so odd that I just couldn't make the games. Anyway Coach Cullimore called to see what was going on and I just didn't return his call which got him a little upset. We were both mad at each other all school year and it was to the point that I wasn't going to play and had even thought about trying to go to another school to play. But then I talked to coach finally and from that moment on I decided de-cided to play at Woods Cross. He told me I had to prove that I really wanted to play so for the first three weeks I was on my own, I had to get my own catcher and just work out on my own to get a spot on the team. I guess the bottom line is I had to prove to myself that I wanted to play." The coach and player relationship has really changed now as both of them seem to enjoy the other. "Coach Cullimore has been great, we have a good relationship now and he's really helped me this season. He's trying now to get some college people to look at me for a scholarship." scholar-ship." "HE'S BEEN a great kid to coach this year" admitted coach Val Cullimore, "the one word to describe him is a battier. He simply doesn't like to lose." He might be a battler to his coach but to his teammates and opponents he's known as a psycho. "I talk to myself on the mound and I guess people say I talk to the ball. It was funny at first because my shortstop John Thomas thought I was talking to him a couple of times. That plus the fact when I want something extra on a pitch I grunt out loud. I really don't know how it all got started but I sure do it now." ONE OF the reasons for his success has been his own attitude, something he readily admits needed improvement. "Last year I really didn't care if we lost but this year I get mad if we lose even if I'm not pitching. I guess the big reason for the change in attitude was I realized : - . V"K v' ' ., v.-. v. i x i ' V- ' I i i 1 ii j I . '::f 1 fi'i'' ; . . - . ' "... . Curtis Carman gets his kicks by striking out opposing hitters. And this season, he's had lots of kicks. this could be my last year to pitch unless I went to a college and I've always wanted to pitch in college so I just buckled down." Curtis is also quick to hand out compliments to everyone else for his good year. "The coaches have really helped and this year Russ Cannon came and helped the pitchers. He taught me not to overthrow the ball and to have confidence in myself. Then the team has really played good defense behind all the pitchers and then they've scored some runs." THE BOTTOM line though is someone had to throw the ball with authority and Curtis Carmen has certainly done that. Some college is going to get an outstanding pitcher when they get a hold of Curtis, he's enjoying baseball once again and he gets a kick out of striking out hitters. And he's had a lot of kicks this season. |