By Zack Cunningham/sportsreporter@trcle.com
November 19, 2008 02:58 pm
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JOSHUA — Joshua senior Colton Turner signed a letter of intent with the Texas State Bobcats to play baseball on Monday.
Owl head baseball coach Jason Bourgeois said Turner was deserving of a scholarship offer.
“If you were to ask me if this were a surprise, I’d say absolutely not,” Bourgeois said. “It was seen a long time ago. Colton is an unbelievably talented athlete.
“From the first time I saw him, I expected big things out of him.”
After this season is over, Bourgeois said the absence of Turner on the field next year will leave some big shoes to fill.
“The biggest thing we’re going to miss will be his leadership,” Bourgeois said. “He’s a strong voice on our team. People look up to him and he’s a leader by example. He’s going to do the right thing both on and off the field and in the locker room.
“We’re going to miss him tremendously. Absolutely he sets the bar quite highly.”
Turner said inking the offer with the Bobcats fulfills a dream he’s had since childhood.
“I’ve always wanted to reach this level,” Turner said. “It’s something I’ve been aiming for since I was little. I’ve always been wanting to get there and I finally did it.”
Turner said there’s never been a doubt that baseball would play such a huge role in his life.
“I basically thought this is what I really want to do,” Turner said. “I’ve always had fun playing baseball and being around all my friends. I just love the game.”
Turner acknowledges that adapting to the collegiate level of play will be a challenge, but a fun one at that.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of challenges,” Turner said. “I’ll get to go down there and start. One of the challenges is that I’m going to have to learn a whole new style of pitching, but it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Turner said the joy of the accomplishment is shared throughout his entire family.
“It means a lot to my family,” Turner said. “They’ve put in a lot of work and driven me to all the practices and everything over the years.
“I have to drive a couple of hours a week just to go to practice and the tournaments. I knew it was a lot of work, but it was worth it.”
During his time as an Owl, Turner accumulated plenty of accolades.
In his sophomore year, he was the 8-4A sophomore of the year and first team all-county Infield.
He sported a 5-1 record with a 2.04 earned run average and recorded 54 strikeouts.
On offense, he batted .256 and had 16 runs batted in.
In his junior year, Turner was named a first team all-district pitcher, all-
county pitcher, sportswriters’ honorable mention all-state pitcher and first baseman, was a pitcher in the Texas Baseball Scouts Association Combine in Round Rock this past summer.
His record as a pitcher was 7-2 and his earned-run average dropped to 1.42. He recorded 97 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched.
On offense, Turner batted .386 with 31 runs batted in and 44 hits. His on-base percentage was .459.
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