By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
East Rowan senior Corbin Shive put on his traveling cleats this summer.
Shive’s distant destinations included Jupiter, Fla., but he felt like he’d been to Jupiter ó the planet ó by the time school started.
Suiting up for the South Charlotte Panthers squad, Shive embarked on a baseball odyssey during which he played with some of the best in the state against some of the best in the country. At the end of the tour, he verbally committed to Charlotte.
“I missed American Legion ball, but I had an opportunity with the Panthers, and it was all for the best,” Shive said. “I wish there had been some way to do both, but there wasn’t. I barely saw my family this summer were on the road so much. We stayed down in East Cobb, Ga., three weeks straight.”
Shive, who plans to play Legion ball in 2009, had plenty of offensive support and pitched very well. He posted an 8-0 record for the Panthers in showcases that were a mixture of wood-bat tournaments and metal-swinging events.
“Besides Jupiter and East Cobb we played in South Carolina’s stadium and at Clemson,” Shive said. “The competition was very good. At East Cobb, we played a team from Illinois with a 6-foot-4 pitcher throwing 94, and they had a couple of guys who had committed to Arizona State.”
It’s no secret Clemson was Shive’s dream school for a long time and he pitched brilliantly twice this summer with Clemson coaches in attendance. But in the end, his decision came down to Charlotte or Elon.
Clemson, North Carolina, South Carolina, East Carolina, Wake Forest, Campbell and several others were part of the picture.
“Not to say I got offers from all those schools, but they all did call me and they all showed some interest,” Shive said. “The thing is even if all of them had made an offer, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have picked Charlotte, anyway. Charlotte is nice. It’s comfortable. I got along with the coaches so well. It just felt like the right place.”
Charlotte’s baseball program has a lot going for it. The 49ers were 43-16 last spring and won their second Atlantic 10 championship in a row.
The 49ers play a few ACC schools, but most of their road schedule entails flights to the Midwest and Northeast. That means a Rowan recruit can play home games 30 minutes from Salisbury ó in a brand new stadium ó but he also gets to see a lot of the country.
Former Mustang Spencer Steedley’s success at Charlotte started the flow. His brother, Ross, now a sophomore catcher at Charlotte, followed. Ross had something do to with the 49ers landing former East shortstop Justin Roland, now a Charlotte freshman. And Shive felt most comfortable at Charlotte, with Steedley and Roland already part of coach Loren Hibbs’ program.
“Coach Hibbs has got a nice set-up there, and they’ve got a class thing going,” East coach Brian Hightower said. “You look at the kids they’re getting and they’re some of the best in the state. They usually get the guys they want because they don’t over-recruit and they do kids right.”
In Shive, Charlotte has landed a pitcher with excellent academic credentials (20th in the senior class) and a history of mound success.
Shive, who will sign in November, has a brisk enough fastball for Division I, but velocity is only part of the package. As far as the mental aspects of pitching, he’s advanced.
“He can throw his breaking ball for a strike and that puts him ahead of most high school pitchers,” Hightower said. ” He’s one of the smartest kids in our school, but he’s not just book-smart, he’s baseball-smart. He picks up a lot of little things. He’s smart enough to beat you even when he’s not on.”
As a quiet sophomore, Shive was 6-2 with 43 strikeouts. As a junior, he enjoyed one of the best years in recent county history. He had an 11-2 record, 77 strikeouts and a 1.63 ERA.
Shive is the first Mustang this century to record 11 wins in a season, and he had the most by a county hurler since North Rowan’s Daniel Moore won 13 in 2000.
Shive is 17-4 at East heading into his senior season and should become the school’s winningest pitcher in many years. East’s biggest winners in the last decade were Julian Sides (20-4) and Cy Young (19-4).
“Corbin had a great junior season, and we felt good about our chances every time he went out there,” Hightower said. “He really should’ve been 12-1, but we lost a 1-0 game to South Point in the playoffs.”
Shive’s 2008 season was more remarkable when you consider a shoulder ailment kept him off the mound until East’s fourth game. He didn’t start on the mound until East’s seventh game, throwing five shutout innings against a South Rowan team that arrived at Staton Field with a 6-0 record.
Shive isn’t overly quick in the field or on the bases, but he owns a sure glove and a good bat. He’s played third base and first base for the Mustangs and was a dependable run-producer as a junior with 17 RBIs.
“Corbin’s smart enough to work mostly on pitching, but he’s also a good enough hitter to bat in the No. 4 or No. 5 hole for us,” Hightower said. “He’s a better hitter than a lot of people realize.”
Shive had some solid offensive game this summer. It’s unlikely he’ll get to hit at Charlotte, but it’s not out of the question.
“I’ve talked to the Charlotte coaches about it some,” Shive said. “Coach (Brandon) Hall came to see our game against South Rowan when I hit a homer and he was at the Mooresville game when I hit two, so he’s seen me swing.”
Charlotte will keep an eye on Shive’s progress this fall as he plays weekend games for the Panthers. East teammate Noah Holmes and South Rowan’s Maverick Miles are also on the team.
“We’ve got a good team, and we’ll have another team at East than can do pretty well,” Shive said. “We’ve got about 40 guys out there lifting and running already.”
Maybe some of them are future 49ers.