than when he previous-
ly recruited me. He con-
tacted coach Gilmore,
and coach Gilmore con-
tacted me. About a week
later coach Gilmore came
down to watch me throw,
and we worked out the
details - and a week later
I was at Coastal Carolina
working out with my fu-
ture teammates.”
Going
from
Bishop
Timon to Coastal Carolina
is a big step. It’s not like
Higgins was part of the
USA Baseball program,
He wasn’t an All-Ameri-
can. He was the right first
at the right time for the
program.
Higgins is a power
pitcher who can change
speeds. He was a dominat-
ing force in the MMAA,
and for Timon. He gave
the Tigers a chance to win
every time he stepped on
the mound. At Coastal
he feels like he needs to
prove himself because of
the fact that he isn’t one
of these guys from that
plays baseball 12 months
a year.
Coming from the North-
east if you get a combined
30 games in between high
school and travel that
says a lot.
“A little bit (chip on
my shoulder). It’s just in
general,” stated Higgins.
“I have that chip on my
shoulder to prove myself,
and that you can come
from anywhere to play
some baseball. And, that
if you have the talent do
it, that shouldn’t be ex-
cluded. I never did any
of the showcase stuff. It
was just kind of the right
place at the right time. I
just want to show every-
one that it was the right
thing, and that it wasn’t a
f luke. I just want to prove
people wrong, and that
a kid from Buffalo can
make it down here.”
Use to playing all the
time, Higgins didn’t see
the field as a freshman.
A late recruit by Coastal
Carolina, Higgins admits
that he wasn’t ready for
what Division I college
baseball was about to
bring.
It still felt weird for the
Higgins as he was used to
playing ball all the time.
Now, he is on the bench
cheering his teammates
on.
Feeling
hopeless
when he can’t help them
out if they are in a jam.
But, Higgins knew the
year off was for the best.
He needed to hit the
weight room to get stron-
ger. He also was going
from pitching as a start-
er to working out of the
pen. The pen allowed him
to bring it every day.
“I was definitely way be-
hind the learning curve
from the rest of the guys
MAY 2019 | SportsUnion
in my class,” stated Hig-
gins. “I was ticked off
at myself for not being
able to perform. Looking
back at it now, I think it
will be the greatest bless-
ing for me. I know that I
need that year. I was just
way behind on muscular
strength. I came in at 180
pounds, and 20 percent
body fat. It was just not a
good combination right
there.”
It still was a transition,
however,
going
from
starter, and deep into
games, to now getting
ready to pitch everyday.
35
“I’m actually looking
forward to pitching out
of the pen. I wasn’t really
conditioned to be a start-
er,” stated Higgins. “I
know out of the pen I can
just come and go balls to
walls and throw as hard as
I want to. I can do whatev-
er I can to help the team
get out of the inning, and
come back the next day. I
just like the mentality of
coming out and knowing
that they are trusting me,
and putting me in pres-
sure situations and giv-
ing them hell.”