BASEBALL TAB: Gourley -- Team goals never change at Eastern Wayne

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 10, 2017 10:01 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Walker Gourley played in the Eastern Wayne system.

He spent two years as assistant coach.

Now he's the lead Warrior.

And the former minor leaguer insists there are no changes in store for the varsity baseball program -- a perennial conference-title and state-playoff contender nestled in the small community of New Hope.

"The main thing I'm trying to do is to continue the things about Eastern Wayne baseball that have been in place many years before," said Gourley, who was drafted in the 13th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009.

"That's for us to be known as a team that plays the game the right way, plays the game hard and (is) also a team that whenever somebody sees that they are playing Eastern Wayne next on their schedule, they know they're going to have to play a good game to beat us."

The transition has been easy.

The same principles remain in place set by former head coach Jabo Fulhgum, who retired less than a year ago.

Do the simple things.

Limit mistakes.

Have good plate approaches.

Play hard for seven innings.

Have fun.

All are secrets to positive success in a game that constantly sets a player up for failure. Gourley learned that during his five-year tenure in the minors with advanced and short-season teams in four different leagues.

"(The minors) are basically a parallel to how your life is," Gourley said. "You have to show up every single day ready to execute the task, commit to the process of becoming better both individually and as a team. You've got to bring the attitude, the concentration, the high level of effort on a day-to-day basis to be successful.

"There are no days off."

Don't expect Gourley to take a break.

The Warriors won't field a JV team this spring. That gives Gourley a 20-player roster -- which includes eight freshmen -- to develop during a challenging schedule that includes a highly-competitive 12-game slate againts Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference opposition.

And like Fulghum, he wants to see EW to take advantage of opportunities presented to it -- in practice and in games. Finding the right cohesiveness in a lineup and putting the team in position to win on a daily basis is paramount.

"The best team may not always win, but the team that plays the best will always win," Gourley said. "That's baseball."

The younger players appear ahead of the learning curve and seem to have bought into the program's philosophy.

The guidance will come from four seniors -- Keyon Gaines, Jacob Ginn, Jordan Taylor and High Point U commit Tanner Wells.

Wells -- the Warriors' lone returning pitcher -- posted a 5-2 worksheet with one save and 2.92 earned run average (ERA) in 522/3 innings on the mound last spring.

Gaines, Ginn and Taylor combined to play in total of 16 games.

"Tanner, Jordan, Keyon and Jacob have done a really good job of holding those younger guys accountable and being the constant example of everything that we're trying to do," Gourley said.

"I can't speak enough of those guys so far in practice. I've got all the confidence in the world that's going to carry over into the games. That's something that's going to translate to things that stick with those young guys as they move through their years."

Eastern Wayne opens its ECC schedule March 14 at South Central -- the final contest in a season-opening, five-game road swing.

The Warriors finished 6-6 in conference play a year ago.

Gourley's message?

Control what can be controlled.

Don't be too concerned about the opponent.

Buy into the team concept.

"We need to keep in mind that we control the work that we put in on a daily basis," Gourley said. "We have to commit to knowing that there's a systematic cohesive way to how we're going to put more runs on the board than the other team.

"I think we've begun to understand that identity and embrace it, and really commit. Throw the ball across the plate a high level. Take advantage of any mistakes. Be aggressive. Scratch and claw for some wins."

Indeed.

That's good 'ole EW baseball right there.