YEATESVILLE — For the past three-and-half years Northside pitcher Brandon Marsh has frustrated batters with his sharp curveball and stellar fastball and now the Panther hurler will get a chance to baffle hitters on the next level as he has accepted a scholarship offer from Florence-Darlington Technical Junior College in South Carolina.
Marsh, a Washington Daily News first-team All-Area pitcher a year ago, helped Northside to a 14-11 record and a playoff victory and finished 5-1 against Four Rivers Conference opponents this year as a senior.
Northside coach Keith Boyd said Marsh’s play has been vital to the Panthers’ recent success.
“Brandon has meant a lot to the program,” Boyd said. “He has been pitching at the varsity level since he was a freshman and we’re really excited for him.”
Marsh had offers from other schools such as Chowan, Gardner-Webb and Methodist but said the Florence-Darlington had shown the most interest.
“Florence saw me in the Powerade State Games and they were on me after that. Their coach asked me to workout for them and when I did they liked what I had,” Marsh said. “I liked Florence because they have a strong program and finished seventh in the country this past year among junior colleges.”
The Panthers’ righty appealed to the Stingers because he has an array of pitches and uses them well.
“They liked my off-speed pitches and how I mixed my pitches,” Marsh said. “They said they can work on me in the weight room and get my fastball in the upper 80s.”
Boyd said Marsh’s versatility was key during his time at Northside.
“He’s a different pitcher when he has to be,” Boyd said. “I’ve seen him go out there and pound the strike zone and reach back and throw it hard. If we had to finesse people he could do that as well. When his curveball is on it’s as good as I’ve seen and I hope it continues to develop.”
Marsh, whose fastball tops out at 86 MPH as of now, said his offseason goal is to work on his physique and improve his speed.
“I’m going to be in the weight room three times a week working hard to try and get my conditioning better so that when I get down there I want to be a step ahead of other people,” Marsh said.
Marsh’s mother Susan and father Glenn, who was an assistant coach for the Northside baseball team, were ecstatic to see their son have the opportunity to continue to play the game he loves.
“I’m very excited,” Glenn said. “He’s worked hard his whole life, baseball has definitely been a passion of his. I think this is an awesome opportunity for him and we are very excited for him.”
Susan was equally happy for her son.
“I am excited. I think he’s going to do well there,” Susan said. “I think we will be making a lot of road trips to South Carolina because we’re going to miss him.”