Baseball inks highly-decorated Arlington HS star

Baseball inks highly-decorated Arlington HS star
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS -- Itawamba Community College Coach Rick Collier announced the signing of Arlington (TN) High School first baseman and pitcher Andy Bowman to the 2013-14 ICC baseball roster on Friday.

"Andy is a big strong guy," said Collier. "He is going to bring some offense to the lineup and that's something we need after struggling at times this past season. He is one of those guys that we feel like can be one of the keys to our offense and we are very excited to having him as part of the team next season."

Bowman finished his prep career by helping the Tigers win their third-straight District 14 AAA tournament championship and a 22-8 record after being eliminated from postseason play in the Regional semifinals.

He was named to the 2013 Rawlings/Perfect Game Southeast Region Honorable Mention list along with fellow ICC baseball signees Drew Carter (Tupelo Christian Prep School), Destin Hahan (Amory) and TJ Watson (Allatoona, GA).

"It's an honor to be part of such a great program that Itawamba has established," said Bowman. "I did have a lot of offers coming out of high school, but picking ICC finally came down to the relationship Coach Collier has with all of his players. I know he is going to treat me right and push me as much as he can to be the best player I can be."

During his junior season, Bowman batted .415 and had 34 RBI to help lead Arlington to the District 14 AAA regular season and tournament championships, Region 7 AAA runner-up finish, Sectional championship and the Tennessee AAA State Championship while earning All-District and All-Region honors along with All-Metro First Team honors from the Commercial Appeal.

The Tigers finished the season ranked 34th in the nation according to the final 2012 Baseball Coaches of American (BCA) poll and No. 1 in the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association (TBCA).

As a sophomore, he helped lead Arlington to the District 14 AAA regular season and tournament championships along with region and sectional championships before advancing to the state semifinals.   

"Andy is going to be hard to replace," said Arlington head coach Chris Ring. "He was a large part of our state championship team last year playing first base and was one of the best postseason hitters that we had and I feel like that is a display of what he can do at the collegiate level."

Bowman is the 12th player ICC has announced as part of its 2013 baseball signing class. Joining the Arlington High School star in Fulton next season will be: Matt Porter (Madison-Ridgeland Academy), Tucker Akin (Madison-Ridgeland Academy), Gable Butler (Tishomingo County), Russ Johnson (Hatley), Tanner Poole (Amory), Hayden Williams (Amory), Bryce Williams (Ridgeland) and Brady Chamblee (Winona Christian).

Collier is expected to announce more signings in the near future.

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