Eastern Alamance grad has immediate impact on Post 81's season

RAMSEUR — It didn’t take long for John Wittig to make a lasting impression with his Liberty Post 81 teammates.

The Eastern Alamance High School graduate, who is heading to Rockingham Community College in the fall, suited up with Liberty for the first time back on May 27 at Rich Park against Mocksville-Davie. Every Post 81 player and fan still remembers that game.

LIberty trailed 9-0 and still trailed 9-2 heading into the seventh inning. A furious rally pulled Liberty to within 9-7 when Wittig stepped to the plate. He had previously recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to help fuel the comeback, but he had more in store. Plenty more in store.

He blasted a two-run homer to complete the comeback, sending the game into extra innings. He then reached base and scored a run in the 9th inning as Liberty Post 81 pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in its storied history.

“It was the most fun baseball game I ever played,” said Wittig, who has been a key part of Liberty’s drive toward a high seed in this year’s American Legion Northern Division push. “Coming back from such a deficit, hitting the game-tying home run was amazing. As a  team, even though we were behind by as much as we were, we didn’t mentally check out like a lot of teams would.

“After that, I felt I was instantly a part of Post 81,” added Wittig, who also threw three shutout innings, struck out six and got the win in that contest. ”I felt that was a confidence boost to keep me going.”

Wittig has continued that production since that opening-game “miracle,” and although he missed a number of games this past week for personal reasons, his contributions have been many for Liberty Post 81.

“John wasn’t in the equation at the beginning,” Post 81 coach Nate Cockman said. “I got to know Tyler (Westbrooks) some and he told me he had a friend who might be interested in playing this summer and he was going to Rockingham Community College.”

Westbrooks and Wittig had played the past four years together at EAHS.

“He is a great kid, super coachable and he comes from a great family,” Cockman said of Wittig. “Something kids always worry about is how they will fit in, especially those who have never played Legion before. Everyone knows he’s going to play at the next level and our younger guys look up to him. Being a big part of the success we had really helps. He leads by example.”

Wittig admits he knew nothing about American Legion baseball before this summer.

“I have never heard about it until this year,” he said. “This is more team-focused rather than individual and teams are better from top to bottom. Batters seven, eight and nine are better.

“Everyone at Eastern Randolph has been so nice,” he added. “Coach Cockman is a great coach and he cares a lot about us. I would say things have gone very well. I’d say it’s been amazing.”

Wittig’s numbers are amazing. He’s hitting .387 with two home runs and seven RBIs. He’s rapped out three doubles.

Post 81 is fighting for a high seed in the upcoming playoffs. The first-place team in the Area III Northern Division will receive a bye while in the first round, a best-of-three series, the second-place team will battle the seventh-place team, seeds three and sixth will meet, and so will seeds four and five. The second round will be a crossover with the Southern Division, another best-of-three series.

”We’re definitely counting on him for run production,” Cockman said. “He hits in the middle of the order and we count on him with runners on. Overall, he’s been the full package, a great leader and everything you want from a player.”