C.B. Aycock's Farmer signs with Louisburg

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 9, 2011 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Productive each of his two varsity seasons, Tyler Farmer eagerly anticipated preseason baseball workouts that started in January.

He expected a breakout senior campaign.

But two stress fractures in his lower back sidelined the Charles B. Aycock standout. It was an agonizing 10 weeks for Farmer, whose love for the game slowly disappeared each passing day.

"I had worked hard for this year," said Farmer. "I get hurt and find out I can't play most of the whole season. I didn't believe it, really. It took me a few games sitting on the bench to realize I might do this the whole year."

Farmer eventually returned to the lineup.

"It really brought out the love for baseball again," said Farmer.

And it rekindled his desire to continue his career beyond high school. Guilford College courted Farmer to play football and baseball. Division II power house Mount Olive College and St. Andrews also contacted Farmer.

However, the 18-year-old son of Wade and Lori Farmer of Stantonsburg decided to sign with Louisburg Junior College. The Hurricanes, who hired Mike McGuire as their new coach Tuesday, finished 30-19 this past spring.

Assistant coach Blake Herring recruited Farmer.

"They've got a good history and have always been a winning program," said Farmer, who has a 4.4 grade-point average on a weighted scale. "A lot of players go on and play D-I (baseball). I want to continue my career as far as I can go. It just feels great to be able to keep playing."

A left-handed hitter who has the tools and knowledge of the game, Farmer flourished his sophomore season as the No. 9 hitter in the lineup. His numbers remained constant his junior season, and he helped Aycock claim its second straight Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference tournament crown.

The back injury forced Farmer into an assistant coach's role this season.

"Going into the season, we thought we were going to pencil him into the number three spot (in the lineup)," said Aycock head coach Charles Davis. "The back injury was almost of the end of the season for him, a big loss for us early on. The one thing that Tyler did this year and I know he was disappointed (but) he was a team leader and team player.

"He was still involved in ballgames."

Farmer recorded a career batting average of .316 with the Golden Falcons. He collected 57 hits, 43 RBI and was a perfect 15-of-15 in stolen bases. The center fielder scored 54 runs and committed just three errors in 83 total chances during his three varsity seasons.

Farmer plans to pursue a degree in engineering and transfer to N.C. State.

"I'm an advocate of these guys going to a two-year school like this and improving, going on to something bigger and better," said Davis. "You're competing against guys your same age and I think it's a great fit for him."