Walton's Towery to pitch for NWF State baseball

The questions surrounding former Walton two-sport star James Towery’s ability to compete at a higher level are the same ones that follow many athletes from smaller high schools. And no one knows that better than Towery.

Sure, he dominated against small high schools with supposed weaker competition, but can he get the job done in the rugged Panhandle Conference as a college baseball player? Towery will get his chance to prove he belongs, as he will pitch for Northwest Florida State College next season.

For his part, Towery is aware of the large leap he’s about to take in terms of competition, and he’s ready for the challenge.

“The biggest thing I need to work on is probably consistency,” Towery said. “We didn’t play the best competition in high school, and (NWF State) will have a lot of competition. I just need to be more consistent.”

NWF State coach Doug Martin acknowledged that the talent gap between the Panhandle Conference and Class 3A high school baseball might be wider than if Towery were coming from a larger school, but he also said that all of his incoming freshmen — not just Towery — need to be ready to step up their games.

“Coming from a small high school or a big high school isn’t the biggest deal,” Martin said. “The biggest deal is how all of them will react. These guys are used to no one being able to hit them in high school. That’s not going to happen here. The biggest deal is how all of them will react.”

Towery, who also starred on the Braves’ basketball team, had the opportunity to keep playing college basketball at Enterprise (Ala.) Community College. However, baseball is his first love and once he got the opportunity to join a quality program close to home, it was an easy decision.

“Being close to home was important to me for the first couple of years,” said Towery, who was an All-Area performer on the diamond and on the court. “It’s a good program and coach Martin is a very good coach.”

As is the case with all of Martin’s incoming freshmen pitchers, it’s still unclear as to whether Towery will be utilized more as a starter or a reliever. Towery features a mid-80s fastball that Martin believes could improve now that he is focusing on baseball only. He also has a nasty curveball and plenty of size to work with in order to add strength.

“He’ll have a chance to react to college ball just like everyone else,” Martin said. “He’s a good athlete and we’re happy he’s here.”