VALDOSTA —
Hank Davis put it best. For most high school athletes their playing careers come to an end whenever their senior season ends. But there are some that are lucky enough to play at the college level.
Davis is now one of those lucky athletes.
The recent Lowndes High graduate signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Thomas University on Thursday at the Lowndes Baseball Fieldhouse.
A right-handed pitcher, Davis will join the Night Hawks’ junior varsity baseball team will hopes of working his way onto the varsity squad. Regardless, Davis is pleased and honored to be playing college baseball.
“It is always great to get better and improve yourself,” Davis said. “It is just an honor to play and just get to go somewhere. A lot of kids don’t get to go somewhere after high school — after their state playoffs. And I get to go on and help Thomas University as best as I can.”
Davis will work out of the bullpen for the Night Hawks, much like he did during his time with the Vikings. Not known for striking out opposing batters, Davis makes his outs by forcing groundball outs, something he does well says Lowndes head coach Danny Redshaw.
“Hank is not a big, physical, dominating fastball kid,” Redshaw said. “He works both sides of the plate and he is a groundball pitcher. He knows his limitations and he isn’t going to go out there and pitch five innings and get 12 or 13 strikeouts.
“He has worked hard and he has been a team player all the way,” Redshaw continued. “He is a guy that we have been proud to have in our program.”
For Davis, his ability to work late in games is something he says he enjoys; the pressure of late game scenarios is what he most enjoys on the baseball diamond.
“I like pressure, a lot of pressure,” Davis said. “I like the pressure of being a closer and relief pitcher because if something happens then it was all you.”
The ability to continue his baseball career was a major factor in his decision to attend Thomas University, a four-year, private university located on the outskirts of Thomasville with an enrollment in the low thousands, but so was the school’s closeness to home.
“I can come home on the weekends,” Davis said. “My mom is glad that she can keep an eye on me and it will be nice to come home every weekend and not have to stay over there.”
Davis was also intrigued by the helpful staff and the close relationships students can build with professors in the classroom.
“Just the one-on-one things that you get with the teachers and guidance counselors is real nice,” said Davis, who said he is leaning towards majoring in sociology.
Davis was recruited by Boo Taylor, a longtime friend of the Davis family and Coach Redshaw. Taylor is the assistant head coach and pitching coach for the Night Hawks and says he recruits the local area high school, like Lowndes and Valdosta.
“We thought Hank would fit in with our program very well,” said Taylor. “My thing, the local schools — Lowndes, Valdosta, Bainbridge, Albany — those are the schools that I scout and try to recruit from.”
Taylor believes Davis will fit in at Thomas University and will be able to succeed both on and off the field.
Davis was a member of the Lowndes bullpen during the 2012 season. He helped the Vikings finish second in Region 1-AAAAA behind Colquitt County. Lowndes’ season came to an abrupt end after being swept in the first round of the Class 5A State Playoffs.
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Related Photos
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Former Lowndes pitcher Hank Davis, middle, signs a letter of intent to Thomas University on Thursday at the Lowndes baseball Fieldhouse. Front row (left to right): Maggie Davis, Hank Davis, Thomas University assistant coach Boo Taylor. Back row (left to right): Lowndes head coach Danny Redshaw, Andy Davis, Lowndes assistant coaches Ryan Page, Matt Crews and Kip McLeod. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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Former Viking Hank Davis signs with Thomas University
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