Valdosta catcher Brent Turner signs with ABAC
Wildcats backstop helped team to 17-6 record

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 13, 2006 The Valdosta Daily Times




VALDOSTA — An experienced, dependable catcher can be a valuable asset to a baseball team.

Brent Turner has been that catcher for Valdosta High this season. ABAC hopes he can be that catcher for them, too.

Turner has signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton next year.

“I love playing baseball. I’ve done it all my life, and now I get to play at least two more years. I’m excited,” Turner said. “I went up there for a tryout, and I guess they liked me, because they offered me (a scholarship).”

Turner has played a big part in one of Valdosta’s best seasons in years. This year, the Wildcats, who went 14-12 last year and finished last in the region, have made a surprising rise to the top of the Region 1-AAAAA standings. Valdosta is 6-3 in the region, and has gone 17-6 this season.

This season, Turner is hitting .333 with 14 RBIs and a .390 on-base percentage, batting sixth in Valdosta’s order.

But he has been just as important, if not more important, behind the plate for the Wildcats.

“Brent loves catching and takes a lot of pride in every aspect of the game. He’s about as good a catcher as I have seen this year,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said.

“I like catcher because you’re always doing something on every play,” Turner said.

Like his team, Turner has shown considerable improvement this year, thanks to all the work he did in the offseason. He admits he was disappointed with his hitting last year, but this year has been a much different story.

“Last summer and fall, I got in the cage and hit as much as I could,” Turner said. “I wanted to be getting better, not sitting around doing nothing. My average wasn’t good at all last year, and I wanted to get better this year. I got a little older and more mature, and I improved.”

“Brent has just physically gotten stronger. He’s continued to work,” Shuman said. “His stick has come around. He’s really worked on his hitting. He stays late after practice and gets a lot of extra cuts.”

Turner and the other seniors have led Valdosta’s rise back into contention for the region title. The Wildcats aren’t blessed with superstars, but instead have been able to rely on guys who simply do what it takes to get the job done.

“Our entire senior class is made up of those kind of guys, which is why we’re experiencing the kind of success we’re having this year,” Shuman said. “The work they’ve done is paying off. Most of these guys have great leadership. We’re having a great season, and I’m happy as I can be for them.”

“We really worked hard,” Turner said. “I think it was because it was our senior year, and our last chance to play. We wanted to have a good season. It means a lot to be having a good year our senior year. We’ve been waiting for this a long time.”