Charlie Agnew's first season as Grace Christian baseball coach came to an abrupt hiatus due to the Coronavirus pandemic and he is not optimistic that it will be resumed.
The Eagles had two wins, two losses and three rain outs prior to the cessation. “We were about as expected,” Agnew said. “We're young and struggled in areas where I expected us to struggle. But we were stronger in (some) areas than I expected. Pitching was shaping up to look better than expected.
“We have players who were off to a good start. It's disappointing for them that the season was stopped. We have a couple of seniors and it's sad for those guys. But for most of them there is a next year.”
Players who have performed well include Grayson Skelton, Wes Agnew, the coach's son, and Gideon White.
Skelton, a freshman, pitches and plays shortstop. “He's just a good ball player all around,” Agnew said. “He's the leadoff hitter and has hit well, has been strong defensively and just has a good baseball IQ.”
Wes Agnew caught last year, but has been a utility player this year. He pitches and when not on the mound fills in wherever needed. He has returned to catcher at times in close games to take advantage of his defense. “I put him behind the plate to keep runners from stealing,” his father said.
White, a senior, pitches and plays in the infield.
Coach Agnew also mentioned Miles Brownlee, a seventh grader playing second base for the Eagles. “I expect a lot of good things from him as he ages.”
His older brother, sophomore Bonner Brownlee, is playing baseball for the first time this year at first base. “I hate that his season was cut short because he was progressing.”
This is Agnew's first year as a high school head coach. He has coached youth baseball for more than two decades and has previous experience as an assistant coach at the high school level in Alabama when his oldest son was on the team. He has leaned on Jason Morgan, the school's headmaster and basketball coach, for help with details like scheduling. “Some of the behind the scenes stuff because that is uncharted territory for me.”
Agnew is an advocate of small ball, with aggressive base running. He said the team is progressing, but added “There are a lot of principles that we did not quite have a grasp on as a team that were developing.”
Offensively, the Eagles have been strong at 1 to 5 in the order, but the bottom of the lineup has struggled. “We were just getting there.” Agnew said.
