Baseball seeks historic tournament run

By Laura Clark

Published: May 22, 2008

Along the third-baseline fence at the baseball field, a group of dads post themselves for home Gov games.

Among them are three dads who hold a place in Nelson County High School baseball history: Jeff Ferguson, Mark Wells and Mike Wooten. And all three men perch along the fence to watch their sons Josh Ferguson, M.J. Wells and Jordan Wooten chase their legacy.

In May of 1982, the Govs won the Seminole District Championship and the Region III Championship by topping a visiting Virginia High School of Bristol 7-1.
The game was played where the football field is now.

From there it was on to the Group AA State Championship in Staunton, where the Govs lost 7-2 to Fort Defiance on May 28. Their record was 15-5.

Current head coach Scott McGarry regularly cites the 1982 season. He was a sophomore junior varsity player that year, and remembers it well.

He talks to his players about the success of the ’82 team because it’s history and motivation, he said. Since that Seminole year, three teams have made it to the regional tournament, but no team has won a regional game. The program has also switched district affiliations three times.

“When you say 1982, you know, none of these players were even alive,” McGarry said. “When that’s the history of your program, that’s what you have to talk about. These guys can relate to it because there’s dads or uncles or close friends…they’ve seen the jackets, and we still have the hats.”

Could this be the year the regional curse is broken?

“We want to get back to that. It takes a special year and a special group to make that happen,” McGarry said.

Coaches from the 1982 team, Jim Garwood, now the junior varsity softball coach, and Skip Barton, still teaching at the high school, have told McGarry the 1982 team and the 2008 team have many similarities.

The Govs are 8-12 overall, and took another step toward the regional tournament with Monday’s 16-10 win against William Campbell in the first round of the Dogwood District tournament.

Mark & M.J. Wells
“We got out of class, got the field ready,” Mark said of the state semifinal game. “Virginia High rolls in with (charter) busses and all these fans. We’re like, ‘Oh no.’ But we beat them.”

Mark was a junior in 1982, like M.J. now. A role player, Mark was often counted on to pinch-hit or run. He played left field and center field, where M.J. dominates now.

“He’s a lot better than I was,” Mark said. “He’s faster than I was. I think I may have been more of a leader. I talk to him about that, being more of a leader, being more confident in himself.”

Though Mark coaches M.J. in varsity football, he sees his role in baseball as one of simply keeping M.J. humble, letting him know that home run or strikeout, there’s always another game.

“A person who’s playing their sport has to make their own way, has to know their limitations,” Mark said.

When not running down balls in the outfield, M.J. is backing up his fellow outfielders or batting .358 with three home runs and 22 RBIs this season.

“I just see my role as a player on the team to knock people in when I get the chance to, and get on base, keep the inning going,” M.J. said.

Though Mark doesn’t say much to M.J. about himself as a player, he will share stories about 1982’s starting centerfielder, Norman Durrette.

“He was the sparkplug of the team,” Mark said. “Norman would get on and the next thing you know he’s at third, he’d done stole all the bases. He was a rebel. I talk to M.J. about how (Durrette) was a wild man, but he got the job done.”

Mike & Jordan Wooten
“I think it helped that we never got caught up in it,” Mike said of 1982 post-season run. “We were like 9-7 through the regular season and no one was paying a whole lot of attention to us. We could win in a variety of ways.

“I remember coming back from Dan River after winning the regionals and stopping at a stoplight, and – I don’t know who it was – hanging out the window with the trophy.”

Mike was a sophomore, starting in left field. His son, Jordan, is a freshman, starting at shortstop.

The two share the same jersey number, 10, though Jordan admits his “10” is more for Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones than nostalgia for his father’s glory days.

Mike remembers making the last out in the state championship game, after doubling off future basketball star Dell Curry. He was thrown out going home. But Mike doesn’t have any “what-ifs” about that game.

But, “I wish I was 6-foot and right-handed and could have played the infield in high school,” Mike said. “I wasn’t. I was 5-foot-6 and left-handed.”

While Jordan has the soft hands and quick reactions defensively, father and son share a contact hitting style. Jordan leads the Govs this season, batting .448 with 16 RBIs and only two strikeouts all season.

Having a good attitude is what Jordan said his dad has impressed on him since childhood.

“When I was little, like 10 or 11, if I messed up I couldn’t do anything the rest of the game. Once my attitude got better I played a whole lot better. If I made an error in the field, I tell myself to make it up when I’m at bat,” Jordan said.

As a long-time coach, Mike said he understands that fine balance between letting his son be his own player and trying to redo or relive his playing days. His experiences pushed him to coach whenever he’s had time.

“You see the regrets or things that maybe you would have done differently, so you want to have an impact on a child,” Mike said. “He’s going to make his mistakes, but maybe you can prevent him from making the two or three that you made.”

Jeff & Josh Ferguson

“I started pitching in the state championship game, and got my butt kicked in the first inning,” Jeff Ferguson said of the 1982 season.

Jeff’s memory of the final game is the story his son, Josh, also a pitcher, hears over and over. But while that may stand out to Jeff the most, there’s another storyline that Josh may not have heard.

“Ferguson’s leadership this season has been shown in his courage to come back from an injury two weeks earlier than expected,” wrote Jeff Greenberg of the Nelson County Times on May 20, 1982. “Fergie culminated his comeback Friday night in the district championship game by pitching four effective innings in which he struck out Liberty’s fearful hitter Pat Overstreet.”

Like Josh now, Jeff was a senior that year. Jeff played shortstop in addition to pitching. Josh plays shortstop and third base.

“He’s better at the bat, but as an infielder, I didn’t miss much,” Jeff said. “I love watching him pitch. He’s a better pitcher than I was. He throws harder.”

Josh has thrown 19.1 innings with 22 strikeouts for a 1-2 district record with an ERA of 4.35. He and fellow senior Ben Ponton share the starting duties. Jeff said Josh has matured as a player this year. McGarry has seen it, too.

“This has been his year for the most experience,” McGarry said. “He gets up there and just has a mean look about him, hat cocked sideways, and he just wants to come after you. He’s become a pitcher.”

Jeff made sure to teach his son sound fundamentals as he grew up, as well as to keep their shared temper in check, and know that bad games happen.

“He taught me to follow through, try to stay balanced and don’t go all over the place,” Josh said. “He’s taught me to try and keep my head in the game, stay positive.

“He tells me the same story every time, pitching against Dell Curry. They ended up losing. It’s the same old story every time.”

Still, Josh said the 1982 state runner-up team is an inspiration.

“We were lucky in ’82,” Jeff said. “We got on a roll, and we just didn’t quit rolling. We didn’t think we could be beat and that took us to the state championships.