Gatorade 2018 - 2019: Player of the Year

Baseball - North Carolina

athletes playing Baseball
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BASEBALL

Blake Walston

Pitcher/First baseman
NEW HANOVER HS
WILMINGTON , NORTH CAROLINA
SENIOR
Height: 6-FOOT-4
Press Release

Peak Performance

0.23

ERA

120

Strikeouts

0.405

Batting average

23

Runs scored
“Walston is somebody who was dominant on the mound from start to finish. Even without his best stuff, he would find a way to pitch and get batters out. But his stuff was some of the best you will ever see at the high school level, especially from a southpaw.”
Nick Raynor
Head Coach - Head coach of Topsail High
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The 6-foot-4, 175-pound senior left-handed pitcher and first baseman had led the Wildcats to a 24-1 record and a berth in the Class 3A East Regional championship series at the time of his selection. Walston owned an 11-0 record with a 0.23 earned run average and 120 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched through 25 games. He had surrendered just 23 hits and issued 17 walks. Walston, who led New Hanover to the 2018 Class 3A state title, carried a .405 batting average with four doubles, 23 runs scored, 16 runs batted in and a .461 on-base percentage into the regional title series.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

Walston has maintained a weighted 3.72 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball on scholarship at North Carolina State University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in June’s Major League Baseball draft.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

Walston has volunteered locally with the Miracle League of Wilmington and the Special Olympics, and he has donated his time to multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group.