Bolden named Player of the Year for baseball

Pleasant Grove's Caleb Bolden points to the sky after scoring a three-run homer in the second inning of a May 13 game against Spring Hill at Hawk Field during the second and final game in the series. PG run-ruled the Panthers in the Class 4A Region II area round.
Pleasant Grove's Caleb Bolden points to the sky after scoring a three-run homer in the second inning of a May 13 game against Spring Hill at Hawk Field during the second and final game in the series. PG run-ruled the Panthers in the Class 4A Region II area round.

If there ever was a high school baseball Renaissance man in 2017, it was Pleasant Grove's Caleb Bolden, who pitched well, hit well, and play solid defense all year.

photo

Silas Price, Shada Clay and Keilon Jason

Hawk senior standout Bolden is the Gazette's 2017 baseball Player of the Year.

Bolden's play as a pitcher, hitter and shortstop helped lead the Hawks to the Class 4A state tournament in Austin.

"Caleb has a bulldog mentality and is always confident," Pleasant Grove head coach Riley Fincher said. "His confidence does not come from having an ego, but stems from all of the hard work he puts into being a great
player."

He was chosen by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 16th round of the Major League Baseball draft. Bolden chose to accept a scholarship to the University of Arkansas instead of entering the minor leagues under
contract.

The Pleasant Grove star went 14-2 on the mound with 150 strike outs in just 95.1 innings of work. His earned run average was 1.17, he issued just 20 walks and shackled opponents to a .152 batting
average.

"The Lord blessed him with a tremendous amount of talent," Fincher said. "Caleb took the talent that he had and added in the work ethic, and it allowed him to be an outstanding arm for us. Every time he pitched, and, the more successful he became, his confidence
grew."

Bolden's performance at the plate was just as paramount. He batted .534, belted seven home runs, five triples and 13 doubles. Bolden had 46 RBI and scored 37 runs in 118 at-bats.

Many people saw what kind of player Caleb was this past year," Fincher said. "He was a great teammate at practice and put in a lot of work outside of practice. He graduated in the top 20 percent of his class. It speaks highly of him and what type of family he comes from."

When the Hawk standout was not pitching, he played shortstop and made remarkable plays. In a close playoff game, Bolden slid over to cover second as the throw to him sailed high.

Bolden jumped high into the air and tagged the runner on his way back down for a spectacular play and, more importantly, an out for Pleasant Grove.

The Arkansas commit made difficult defensive plays look easy while he was on the hill and at shortstop.

In a game on April 18 against crosstown rival Liberty-Eylau, Bolden hammered two home runs.

On May 18, Bolden pitched a 4-hitter shutout against Canton in a Class 4A playoff
game.

In one of the biggest playoff games of the season, Bolden held arch nemesis Argyle to just one run on just three hits on May 25 in a 6-1, Game 1
win.

The future Razorback has chosen to concentrate on pitching at the next level, but his superb wide range of play will be remembered for many years to come at Pleasant Grove.

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