Spencer Mossburg, who helped Silverdale Baptist Academy reach the Class A state baseball tournament championship game in May, will sign a scholarship with Chattanooga State on Thursday.
Mossburg will become the second Seahawks player to sign a college grant in recent days. Reid Clements earlier signed with Middle Tennessee State University.
“It came down to Chattanooga State, Walters State and Lincoln Memorial,” Mossburg said Wednesday night. “I was in contact with Lee University, Cleveland State and other community colleges throughout Tennessee. Chattanooga State gives me the best opportunity to grow as a player.”
Mossburg added: “I wanted to be patient, I prayed about it and tried to see which school gave me the best opportunity. It’s exciting to stay local, too. I thought I would be moving out and going out of town, but I won’t have to do that.
“Chattanooga State has had awesome success and I’m glad to be part of it. My decision came down to Lincoln Memorial, Walters State and Chattanooga State. It was a tough decision, but Chattanooga State is definitely the best place for me.”
Mossburg, whose role with the Seahawks was primarily as a pitcher and outfielder, went 9-0 in leading the Seahawks to their first state tournament appearance at the Spring Fling in Murfreesboro.
The Seahawks finished 39-4 this season, claiming the school’s first district, region and sectional titles along the way. Silverdale went into the state tournament as the state’s No. 1-ranked team, according to the coachT.com website.
“I think Chattanooga State got a steal,” Seahawks coach Jonathan Adcock said Wednesday night. “I’ve always said watch out when Spencer concentrates on just one sport. In the next year or two, he’s just going to get better and better. He holds pretty much every pitching and hitting record we have at Silverdale.”
Mossburg also played football and basketball in his four years at Silverdale.
“Spencer has been such a big part of teams in all three of those sports, really a main part of those programs,” Adcock said. “He’s always handled the pressure with poise and humility that you just don’t see that often.”
The hard-throwing right-hander beat three-time defending state champion Decatur County-Riverside, 2-1, in the second round of the state tourney. He pitched in relief of Joey Szollosi in a 4-0 championship game loss to Friendship Christian at MTSU, going 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
Clements beat Rockwood in the state tournament opener and turned back Decatur County-Riverside in the winner’s bracket final to reach the title game.
In his senior season, Mossburg threw six complete games and posted a 0.78 ERA. He struck out 69 in 54 innings, registered five shutouts and opponents batted .151 against him.
Offensively, Mossburg batted .561, including a .520 batting average in the region, sectional and state tournament.
Mossburg had 55 hits, with 15 doubles, seven home runs, drove in 32 runs and scored 50 times. He had 17 multi-hit games and a .639 on-base percentage.
“I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out,” the 18-year-old Mossburg said. “It was really awesome being with the coaches and players. I love them all and thank God for them. The whole journey was really special and a huge step for our program.”
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com)