Philip Pfeifer has chosen to go to Vanderbilt for college baseball and for life lessons.
File photo by Randy Sartin
Most high school student-athletes graduate having never won a state championship. Imagine winning four … and all in the same sport.
Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) seniors
Philip Pfeifer and
Nicky Delmonico hope to do just that. Both players have been integral in the school's three consecutive state baseball titles, and their statistics from last season alone are a career's worth.
Nicky Delmonico plans to take hishitting talents to the University ofGeorgia.
File photo by Randy Sartin
Pfeifer finished his junior year at 16-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 96.1 innings pitched. The lefty struck out 165 and walked just 26 on the season, saving one of his best performances for last when he struck out 14 while pitching a one-hitter in the state title game.
As impressive as Pfeifer was on the mound last season, so was Delmonico at the plate. The left-handed hitting shortstop batted .485 with 75 RBIs and 18 homers, including a walk-off round-tripper to win the championship game for the Admirals.
"Phil and Nicky are the two most highly decorated players to ever play here, and we've had some good ones," said last year's Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year Matt Buckner. "They've taken what was already an excellent program to an entirely different level."
The Knoxville school has become a national power. The Admirals have won six of the last eight AAA state championships and rank second in state history with seven overall state titles (Christian Brothers is first with 10). This season Farragut, which was ranked No. 19 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings before dropping out last week, boasts an impressive 24-5 record.
Pfeifer and Delmonico are the backbone of a young squad playing without six starters from last year's championship team. And while many expected this to be a rare rebuilding year for Farragut, the two seniors have carried the team on their shoulders to put the Admirals in contention for another state title.
"We've been sporadic, but I've seen flashes of us being good," Buckner said of his team's chances. "We have to get healthy, and if we do, we've got the guys to make a run at it."
The coach's primary concern is the health of one particular left shoulder – Pfeifer's. Because of a second bout with tendinitis, Buckner said his ace is probably not going to play again until the playoffs.
"This is the first time I've ever had to miss games because of injury," Pfeifer said. "It's aggravating and hard not to just go out and play with it because you want to be there for the team."
Pfeifer's setback comes after he broke the Tennessee high school state record for wins by a pitcher. His one-hit, 2-0 victory against Columbia on March 25 earned him his 43rd career win, surpassing Brad Howard's mark of 42, set from 1992-96 while at Oakdale.
"It was a huge honor to break the record, but the most important game to me after any win is the next one," said Pfeifer, who is 3-1 with a 0.60 ERA this season and has lost just four games his entire career. "The biggest thing for me is to have my teammates' respect that they know I'm going to give it my all for a win. And I know without them, I wouldn't have the record."
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