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He doesn't talk all that much anyway, but when the kid is in the zone he doesn't say a word to anyone.
He sits on the bench off to the side, keeps to himself and focuses on what he has to do to get a win. The kid is Josh Strock, and he looks more like a big-old man than the 18-year-old hefty hurler from Cordova that has emerged as Orangeburg Post 4's ace on the mound this season. Catch him on the days when he's pitching, the days he falls off into his zone, and he appears downright antisocial. It's all about him, the mound, the mitt, a little Trent Still and a whole lot of "Coach."
"Coach" ... that's Alan Strock -- Josh's dad -- and he earned that nickname years ago. Alan raised Josh. He coached Josh, and on the day he died he drove Josh Strock to be the best he could be at life.
"Yep, they call me coach," Strock said, looking out over Mirmow Field Tuesday and repeating words once uttered by his father. "He got the nickname in high school and it just stuck."
"Coach" coached Josh all the way up until the day he started playing JV baseball at Edisto High School. He was, after a divorce when Josh was four, the kid's only parent for much of his life. The bond that was formed from the experience is one that lives on today.
"He died in January of 2006," Strock said. "He had cancer. I can't remember what he had, but it was so bad. It spread through his body, and they couldn't stop it. He went through all types of treatment and stuff.
"He just had to be both parents at one time," he continued. "To live with him, and to lose him ... it's a big thing. It's hard."
At 6 feet 2 and 270 pounds, Josh will tell you he favors his grandfather -- he's 6 feet 6 -- more than Alan. "Coach" was just 170 pounds, but he taught his son well. Josh wants to play baseball in college, so much so that last week he drove down to Charleston Southern University to try out in front of some coaches before driving back to Orangeburg and pitching Post 4 to a 1-0 win over West Ashley. It's a sure-fire lock he will be going to school at Charleston Southern.
He was invited back to tryout as a walk-on, but he's already accepted an academic scholarship to the school, so even if he doesn't make it on the diamond he's going anyway. But, ask Orangeburg Post 4 head coach Frank Leysath, and he will tell you Strock's good enough to be a Buccaneer.
"Josh is ... you know ... he kind of reminds me of a big teddy bear," Leysath said. "He's a real good kid. He's playful. I'm sure his dad passing away as early as he did ... I know that was traumatic for him. But, as far as young men to coach, he's been a good guy to work with."
And, he's likely been the savior of a Post 4 pitching staff that had just Still to rely on at the beginning of the season. Others -- Clay Dewberry, Brad Felder and Murray Smith -- have stepped up also, but it's Strock and his regular-season record of 3-1 and .90 ERA that have led the way. Not bad for a kid that didn't' even pitch that much at Edisto High School this past season.
"It just seems like every summer I've pitched pretty well," Strock said. "And, then in high school I didn't pitch that much."
But, the coaches at CSU told him they liked his stuff, and although he took the loss, working just three innings before leaving with tightness in his shoulder, in Monday's second-round playoff opener against Georgetown, Strock will likely get one more chance to get in the zone this year.
If that opportunity arises, he'll trot out to the mound again, and he will carry "Coach" with him.
"I've got this thing," he said. "Before I go to pitch, every inning, I will write his initials on the back of the mound. I want to do good for him.
"It's what drives me."
-- T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached by e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com --