Two Billingsley athletes sign to play for Faulkner
Published 9:16 am Thursday, May 28, 2015
By Adam Powell | Special to the Advertiser
A large crowd of family, friends and classmates gathered in the Billingsley High School gymnasium May 22 to watch two seniors ink deals to play baseball for Faulkner University in Montgomery.
Tyler Powell and Garrett Harrell will begin their college playing days at the start of next school year.
“It’s really nothing I’ve done,” said Billingsley’s first-year Head Coach Ricky Atcheson. “I was just the beneficiary of some great ball players.”
Garrett Harrell (seated, center) was joined at a signing ceremony by (from left) Karen Hughes from Faulkner University, Billingsley coach Ricky Atcheson and parents Melissa and Mark Harrell.
Powell, who played second base for the Bears, finished the year with a .326 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a fielding average above .900.
“He’s just a fundamentally sound second baseman,” Atcheson said. “Tyler doesn’t just play baseball; he’s a baseball player.”
Harrell played outfield for the team and also worked as a right-handed pitcher, which didn’t afford him many plate appearances.
“He spots the ball really well when he pitches,” Atcheson said. “He was productive when he did get to hit for us.”
“I’m living the dream,” Harrell said of the opportunity to play college baseball. “It feels good knowing I get to play baseball again.”
“I always wanted to play college ball,” Powell said. “I’ll just try to see where it takes me.”
Tyler Powell (seated, center) was joined at a signing ceremony by (from left) parents Kelley and Phillip Powell, Atcheson and Hughes.
Despite being enthused about playing college ball, both Powell and Harrell have plans for their future outside of baseball.
Powell plans to study law, in hopes of one day becoming a game warden, and Harrell plans to study criminal justice, with plans of becoming a U.S. Marshal or a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
