Deep Creek senior's approach pays off at plate

CHESAPEAKE

Deep Creek coach Bill Partain fondly recalls the countless hours he spent talking baseball with former players who went on to bigger things.

Clay Rapada, now a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, would discuss the game with Partain until the sun went down. So would Chris Baker, now a standout first baseman at Old Dominion.

The latest of Partain's "dirt rats" is Kam Stewart. The senior shortstop/pitcher regularly sits next to his coach on bus rides after games, analyzing what the Hornets did right and wrong.

"Probably one of the hardest-working kids I've ever had," said Partain, who has coached on Deep Creek's staff since 1999. "We practice six days a week, and after practice he hits and works on his game. And on Sundays he gets some of the teammates together and they come out here and hit when I'm not around."

That effort is a main reason Stewart, who also played quarterback for Deep Creek in the fall, is one of South Hampton Roads' top hitters this season, with a .473 average through last Thursday.

But Stewart hasn't always thrived. A four-year varsity starter, he said his intensity got the best of him at times when he was an underclassmen.

Deep Creek trailed Hickory by three runs in a game during Stewart's freshman season when he came to bat with runners in scoring position. Gary Ward, who went on to earn All-Tidewater baseball Player of the Year honors that season, got Stewart into an 0-2 count.

"Then he threw one about neck high, and I whiffed," Stewart said, admitting he swung too hard. "If I would've just put it in play and gotten a base hit, it would've been a 3-2 game."

That Stewart realized, as a freshman, his cut was too big demonstrates the baseball acumen Partain said has shined through since.

Stewart, who has drawn interest from a few colleges and is still mulling his options, hit .250 that freshman season, .313 as a sophomore and .376 as a junior.

In addition to flirting with .500 this season, he's served as a mentor to a team that's in contention to make the Southeastern District tournament despite having only three upperclassmen.

"If he misses a ground ball in a practice, he insists, 'You've got to hit me another one because I'm going to attack it hard.' " Partain said. "He does everything at game speed. I point him out all the time to my other kids. He's my senior, my leader, my captain."

Mike Connors, (757) 446-5434, michael.connors@pilotonline.com