Leopard Hurler Selects Alabama's Bishop State

To play college ball, prep athletes need to do more to get into college than answer the mail or the phone.

With baseball players, that idea holds weight.

Take the case of Hernando High pitcher Dustin Pugh, who singed a baseball scholarship recently with Bishop State Community College, a two-year school located in Mobile, Ala.

Pugh recently had a tryout for the coaches at Bryan College in Tennessee when he heard about a tryout for Bishop State.

"Dustin went to a tryout a month ago in Mobile with Andrew McNeal and they both did well enough so that the baseball coaches there wanted to sign him," said his father, David Pugh Sr.

"There were about 80 kids there, but it went way better than we expected," said teammate McNeal at the player's signings at Coney Island in Brooksville.

The funny part is that along with Pugh and McNeal, Dustin's dad had talked with the Bishop State coaches afterward.

"It seems whereever you go, every college needs pitching," said Dustin's father. "So I told him about Casey Adams and they gave him a tryout and signed him, also."

This past year, Pugh played third base, second base and pitched for the Leopards. As a pitcher this year for Hernando, he went 3-4 with one compete game and a 4.78 ERA and a .321 average, six home runs and 22 RBI.

"Desire is the one word I would use in describing Dustin," said his baseball coach Donnie Whitehead.

"He's willing to do whatever he needs to do to help the team. He wants to succeed."

Pugh was going to sign with the school in Tennessee, but after visiting the Mobile campus, he said he changed his mind.

"I like the coaches and I like the city," said Dustin.

He also said going away to school was not a problem for him.

"No, not really, I wanted to go far away for college and see if I can make it on my own," added Dustin.

His coach said with only two years experience on the mound, college would be different than high school.

"I had a conversation with his mom and dad on what it would take for him to get to the next level,"

Whitehead said. "You need to have a strong arm, composure and a desire to win; those are three traits you look for on the mound and Dustin has them."

Showing promise

Whitehead said that before his junior year, he had Pugh throw a bullpen session and said that he showed some promise.

"He needs to mature physically," said the Leopard coach. "He's graduating a year early and I think for him to succeed, he needs not to dwell on things. Not to let a bad pitch, a bad inning or bad game upset him. He's got to learn to let the past be in the past."

Pugh added that the coaching staff of Bishop State had given him some things they wanted him to work on.

"They want me to work out a lot, do lots of running and they want me to develop another pitch," the Hernando senior said. "I throw a straight overhand curve ball and they said it was good but they wanted to improve my change-up and my fastball."

Whitehead added that all three players who signed at Coney Island: Pugh, Adams and McNeal, were leaders on his team this year.

"Out of the group we had, the three of them are in the upper echelon of guys who want to get better."

The Leopard coach also cautioned that college baseball is much different from high school.

"It's like I was telling one set of parents, the difference in the commitment level that's required for college baseball is huge," said Whitehead. "Every day's Groundhog Day. You wake up at five a.m. and run or lift weights. You come home, shower and go to class all day.

"Then you eat lunch and go to practice," he stressed. "After that, you eat supper, do your home work and then lift weights again. It's almost like a job."