Submitted photo
Bailin Luttrell signs his letter of intent to continue his baseball career at UT-Southern.
By Chris Siers
csiersbedfordcountypost.com
For the better part of the past two years, former Marshall County Tiger ace pitcher established himself as Mr. Reliable on the pitching rotation.
More often than not, Luttrell found himself as the Monday starter and faced the top pitchers in the district.
Having become that reliable arm in the rotation, Luttrell signed his letter of intent to continue his baseball career at UT-Southern.
“The last two years, Bailin has been our No. 1 pitcher and has done a great job for us. This year, his velocity got up a little bit. He throws lots of strikes. If he can get over there at UT-Southern and focus on working hard, I think he has an opportunity to play some baseball at that level. I’m exciting about him being there,” former Marshall County coach Mike “Monk” Reese said.
While lots of players sign their letters of intent in early spring, Luttrell was a late-summer acquisition for the Firehawks.
“About four weeks before classes started I reached out to Coach (Mitch) Hill and asked if I come and tryout for the team. I’m starting out on JV to where I plan to work hard and earn some playing time in varsity,” Luttrell said.
Competing in a brutal District 8-AAA schedule, Luttrell quickly rose the pitching ranks as not only one of the best on the Tigers’ roster over the past two seasons, but also one of the best in a gauntlet of a district slate.
Even though he’s just now a freshman in his fall season, Reese feels Luttrell has “the stuff” to compete at the collegiate level.
“When you go to a four-year school, it depends on him and what he’s capable of doing this fall and show the coaches he can come in and contribute.
Post File Photo by Chris Siers
Luttrell became the Monday starter and was Mr. Reliable during his senior season with the Tigers.
It’s tough on a freshman, but in this day and time with transfers, a lot of times, it’s next man up,” he said.
“I think he has a good enough fast ball and I think he has a good change-up. He has to really work on developing on a third pitch.”
While he made his name as the Monday starter for the Tigers, Luttrell likely will see time out of the bullpen, as well as some limited starts as a freshman.
“I will probably be doing both starting and coming in some games depending on how the game is going,” he said.
Luttrell has played baseball for most of his life and signing his letter of intent to continue his career is just a dream come true.
“I have been playing baseball since I was four, so about 15 years and I got my start by just falling in love with the game at a young age and just staying in the sport and putting everything I had into it,” he said.
It wasn’t just his play on the field that helped land Luttrell in Pulaski, but his senior leadership this past season as well.
“Your seniors are always your leaders. I gave him the ball quite often. He always pitched against their one’s. He battled. He kept us in ball games,” Reese said.
Luttrell will pitch with the Firehawks during fall ball this fall to prepare for the spring season.
He plans on pursuing a degree in math.
