Catawba's Nathan Chrismon (South Rowan). Brian Wilhite photo.

By Mike London

Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — His numbers were fine through Thursday’s Catawba victory at Newman Park — .324 batting average, .435 on-base percentage, 68 hits, 14 doubles, 21 steals, 44 runs scored in 58 games — but don’t expect junior shortstop Nathan Chrismon to talk about his Catawba College baseball stats.

He can’t discuss them because has no idea what they are.

“Honestly, I don’t know what my stats are. I don’t know what my batting average is, and don’t know what my on-base percentage is,” Chrismon said. “I honestly don’t care about the numbers. I have one thing on my mind when I go out there — what can I do to help win this game.”

Chrismon is wired a little different, but in a good way. He seriously doesn’t care what his stats are, as long as the Catawba Indians win on the scoreboard. Finding one of those guys in 2025 is a rare treat. It’s like finding a $50 bill in a library book.

The Chrismon stat that sort of explodes off the stat sheet right in your face is he’s been hit by pitches 23 times in 58 games. He’s been hit by pitches more often than he’s walked (22 times), which is not normal human behavior.

“The thing is I’ve never once gone up to the plate with the idea of trying to get hit by a pitch,” Chrismon said. “I can’t control what pitch the pitcher throws or where he throws it. But I can control stepping into the batter’s box ready to compete, ready to win that battle with the pitcher and get on base. And if that’s by walk or hit by pitch, that’s OK with me, because I do have some speed, and I can turn some walks and HBPs into doubles, maybe even triples, and maybe I can cause some chaos for our opponent. That any-way-on-base mentality goes back to high school at South Rowan and even before high school.”

In 2022, the 5-foot-9 Chrismon’s senior year of high school, South’s 1-2-3 hitters could have been arrested for the mayhem they caused for opposing pitchers, catchers and infielders. It was a trio that included Ty Hubbard, now Chrismon’s running mate in Catawba’s middle infield, and Kane Kepley, who brings serious fire and talent to his role as the combative lead-off man for UNC.

South Rowan won the 3A state championship in 2022 because pitchers just couldn’t handle those first three pests in the lineup, despite their non-threatening appearance, and the guys behind them and the pitching staff, which included Wake Forest lefty Haiden Leffew, were solid.

South Rowan was head-coached by Chrismon’s father, Thad, who was a record-setting relief pitcher for UNC in the mid-1990s, so Nathan understood the fundamentals of baseball not long after he learned to walk.

“Those were special times at South Rowan for my family,” Nathan said. “When we won that last high school game, we thought we’d all be going our separate ways in college; Ty to Catawba, Kane to Liberty (he transferred to UNC between his sophomore and junior season)) and me to East Carolina. But now Ty and I are getting to play together again at Catawba and I can’t say enough about what an unexpected blessing that is. It’s been a blast. T is a great person and he’s a great second baseman.”

Chrismon just about always got into the games in his two seasons at East Carolina, as he played in 75 games. But it was usually as a pinch-runner, a pinch-hitter or a defensive replacement. He had only 42 at-bats in two seasons.

He left ECU for Catawba for a couple of reasons, but playing time wasn’t near the top of the list. He really enjoyed ECU.

“We had a player named Carter Cunningham at East Carolina and he taught me a lot about using the platform of being a college baseball player to make a real impact in a community, to help people,” Chrismon said. “I felt it in my heart that I wanted to make a difference like that, and my thinking was that as a local college player I could really do a lot of good in Rowan County. That’s turned out to be the case. I’ve been able to get programs started that have raised quite a bit of money, and we’ve really helped people. Coming back home and being able to that, well, that’s meant everything to me. Playing baseball for Catawba has been great for me, but there are things in life bigger than baseball.”

Chrismon’s non-profit organization, Stealing Hearts, lined up corporate and individual sponsorships for Catawba home games, with extra donations kicking in every time an Indian stole a base. Money raised went to support youth sports at places that are sometimes forgotten — like the Nazareth Children’s Home.

“Being back home also has had the benefit of more of my family and friends being able to see me play,” Chrismon said. “I’m sure my parents would drive to see me play anywhere in the country, but Catawba, being 20 minutes from home, is a whole lot easier for a lot of people to get to than Greenville was.”

Chrismon had to shake off a little rust from his limited at-bats with the Pirates, but he’s definitely enjoyed being in a full-time role with the Indians.

“Playing every day hasn’t been that big of an adjustment for me,” Chrismon said. “Because at East Carolina, even when I wasn’t playing a lot, I always prepared for every game like I would be starting it. I learned good work habits and routines at East Carolina, and I still use them here.”

Coming to Catawba meant a happy reunion with Hubbard and the Hubbard family, but it also meant playing with a lot of Rowan guys from Carson and West Rowan that were fierce high school rivals.

“Well, we get along pretty well,” Chrismon said. “Yes, Ty and I battled hard in high school against a lot of guys who are our teammates now, but the thing that gave us common ground with those guys was a love for baseball and a love of competition. Those guys have the same mentality we do, and we bonded smoothly  because we’re all competitors.”

Casey Gouge, who was in the Class of 2022 at West Rowan, knew Chrismon only as a feisty guy who been tough to get out.

But Catawba needed a shortstop, so Gouge was ready to give Chrismon the benefit of the doubt. As a teammate and as a friend, Chrismon has exceeded all expectations.

“I think Nathan fit in almost overnight,” Gouge said. “I think we all could see right away that he cared about Catawba succeeding and about his teammates succeeding more than he cared about his own success. How can you not like a guy like that? On the baseball side of things he has really helped us with his offense and with his defense, but baseball is only a small part of who this guy is. He’s a guy you want to be around. I think he’s done even more for us off the field than on it, bringing guys together and being positive every day.””