COLLEGE BASEBALL: Davis helps lead Pitt CC to JUCO World Series

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on May 31, 2017 7:08 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- The decision, made with the support of his family, wasn't dressed up and announced in a dramatic, look-at-me parade of powder blue pomp.

It was released on Twitter -- to one reply, 10 retweets and 48 likes -- in a pair of ho-hum declarative sentences on January 26, 2016.

"Proud to say I have committed to Pitt Community College to play baseball," Kyle Davis wrote. "Thanks to everyone who has helped out and pushed me to work hard."

And beyond anythign else, that approach -- one steeped in humility and old-school scrabble -- has made Davis a significant part of a PCC bullpen that is currently working as the No. 3 seed in this week's National Junior College Association of America Division II World Series in Enid, Okla.

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As a general rule, one doesn't self-promote his way up the rungs of a baseball roster's ladder. The game's history-rich chain of command simply doesn't allow it.

At each level, old polices young.

Experience molds flash.

Rules are rules, kiddo, and what kind of truck you drove in Pikeville or what you did versus 3-A batters doesn't impress anyone or qualify you on the collegiate level.

In short, one has to carve out a new identity.

So, Davis went about the task in a familiar way -- by returning to habits that always, it seemed, kept him a step ahead of his peers.

Fundamentals. Hard work. Due diligence.

Rinse and repeat.

There were workouts, early ones at his new home, called into formation by dawn's wink and spelled out in grinding, full-body circuit work.

He and his mates tossed weight around, did target-specific chores and scaled track boxes in a single bound, but hey -- no one makes the series just because the selection committee takes a shine to your school's mascot.

"The last thing we do... we attach a rope around our waist," Davis said of his outfit's daily grind, "and shuffle left and right, then jump back and forth, and hold a 50-pound medicine ball -- we have to do it 10 times on each side -- (and) it kind of gets to you after a while."

But it also generates results.

His first victory arrived on February 12 -- in PCC's first series of the spring -- when he tossed 3 2/3 innings of two-hit baseball in relief versus USC-Sumter.

From there, it's been an involved campaign, with Davis posting a respectable 2.84 ERA (earned run average) over 16 appearances -- including Saturday's pressure-cooker, stop-the-bleeding stint in Enid versus 10th-seeded Hinds (MS) Community College.

Leading by a comfortable margin throughout, the Bulldogs allowed the Eagles three quick runs in their half of the eighth, prompting tension amongst the PCC faithful and for the first time all night, a dash of hope for Hinds.

Davis, however, quelled such optimism.

With a runner on second base and none out, No. 16 took the cliff and seated the Eagles in bother-me-not fashion -- a soft liner to left, a fly ball to center field and a 4-3 putout to stifle the Hinds' threat.

"It was great," Davis said of the opportunity. "I was a little nervous at first, but after the first batter I was settled... Overall, it was a great experience -- (and) I'm ready to get back out there when my team needs me."

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On a few occasions this spring, Davis was spotted in Pikeville, hanging with his pops in the dugout time-share that dissolved with his graduation last June.

They worked out, like always, laboring through the details of velocity, secondary pitches and the tricky nuance required to vanquish a seasoned hitter.

And the elder Davis, who has missed just three games of what has morphed into a 50-game schedule, likes what he's seen.

"Kyle went in knowing how to pitch, how to set up hitters and get them out," he said. "But (PCC skipper) Coach Eason does a great job... (Kyle) got stronger, his fastball has a little more zip on it, and they've also tightened up his curve ball -- it's been a very good experience for him."

One placed on a fast track to the Sooner State, no doubt, by old habits that lack an expiration date.