SACCO: 2-year school the right choice for these 2

If watching Jeremy Fitzgerald play American Legion ball opened up a college coach’s eyes, then Terrell Thompson running the base paths must have grabbed him by the neck and shaken him to next Sunday.

Problem is, Patrick Henry baseball skipper Chris Parker hasn’t seen Waynesboro’s speedy lead-off man play yet, relying instead on a cavalcade of scouting reports and sent-in stats.

Either way, all parties are coming out winners in this deal.

Over the span of two days, both Fitzgerald — Stuarts Draft’s pitching ace — and Thompson — dubbed the most dangerous player in the area by one opposing coach — have said they’re heading to the two-year school in Martinsville to hone their craft and boost their GPAs.

They even plan on rooming together.

In a Division I world, this is what Augusta County wanted to hear.

Too often, players in this area get lost in the shuffle. With their decisions, Thompson and Fitzgerald are making sure they don’t fall into that trap.

“Yeah,” they both said without hesitation this week when asked if choosing the community college was the right choice.

Nobody should disagree.

Anybody who doesn’t think Thompson can cut it on the Division I level speaks in pure folly. Anybody who thinks Fitzgerald could make a Division I roster right now would fall into the same boat.

Fitzgerald is talented, but raw. He needs a few more miles per hour on his fastball and admits that despite being laid back, he can get pretty fired up on the mound.

“I need to work on my composure,” he said.

Having played baseball since he was 4, Fitzgerald is a proven student of the game and, despite his talent on the basketball court and football field, he’s managed to ignore those big-money college sports’ siren songs to stay with his true love.

Thompson is the real deal waiting to happen.

True, Fort Defiance’s Daniel “Righty” Wright is the best all-around baseball player in the area right now — evident by his Division-I scholarship to Radford — but Thompson brings the danger factor that leaves college coaches salivating. Even those who haven’t seen him play yet like Parker.

“We’ve heard amazing things about his ability,” he said.

Coach, whoever is telling you this is right.

Parker said his all-region sophomore outfielder — Thomas Sappelt — is draft worthy. Already, Thompson is drawing comparisons to the Patriots’ departing star, Parker said.

Walking Thompson is the pitching equivalent of fouling someone in the penalty box during a soccer match. Chances are, it’s going to lead to a score with Thompson swiping second before you have a chance to recover and taking third from under your nose seconds later.

In 2008, he stole 17 bases without getting caught and has showcased some power with two homers this season to deep right-center at the KC.

Patrolling the outfield is second nature for Thompson, who has made several highlight-reel catches during his varsity career.

Speed matters at the plate and in the field for him.

“You can’t teach speed,” said Webber Payne, Waynesboro’s first-year baseball coach.

Nor can you teach the heart and love of the game Fitzgerald has.

The Cougar has been part of three rebuilding processes at that county school nestled between the Blue Ridge and the noxious belchings of Interstate 81. He was a member of a football team that went from 0-10 to the playoffs in a two-year span and was a pivotal member of the basketball team that went from Southern Valley albatross to district dark horse in 2008-09.

Baseball wise, as a senior, it was his duty to chuck that team on his back when they struggled early during the team’s 1-6 start.

“He leads by example,” said Josh Podgorski, the skipper at Draft.

A 1.9 ERA is no secret; he can pitch and pitch well.

American Legion Post 13 coach Mark Patterson said the senior can seemingly put the pitch where he wants it. Speed on the mound only matters with control.

Fitzgerald has the control already.

In Martinsville, it’s very apparent what Parker wants.

In three seasons, he’s taken the Patriots to a consistent Top 15 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll and was charged with getting the school postseason eligible, which it finally is this season, and it’s the only two-year school in Virginia to fly the NJCAA flag.

But it’s also about academics.

Both Thompson and Fitzgerald aren’t afraid to admit they have to get their grades up. And if that leads to a roster spot somewhere bigger and better, so be it.

These are two players who don’t deserve to get lost in the shuffle. Two kids worthy of a shot.

Parker saw something that made him agree.

In Augusta County, we call that “something we’ve known all along.”

Follow Jim Sacco, the area’s only award-winning sports columnist, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/PoochPunt