Courtesy of accc.org
Snead State Community College sophomore and 2013 Westbrook Christian graduate Mikhail Cazenave recently signed a baseball scholarship to Samford University in Birmingham.
The right-handed pitcher from Rainbow City is currently the only junior college signee in this year’s recruiting class at Samford.
He is the No. 1 starter at Snead State, pitching in the 88-92 range.
“I want to thank my teammates and coaches,” said Cazenave. “I look forward to reaching our goals together this season.”
Samford head baseball coach Casey Dunn shared his expectations of Cazenave on the school’s athletic website, samfordsports.com.
“Mikhail was one of the most accomplished pitchers in his class coming out of high school. “He pitched his team to a state championship and really has a knack for competing on the mound.
“The only knock on him out of high school was a lack of the velocity. Over the past two years he has really worked hard to add arm strength, and now is a guy I expect to come in ready to compete for a weekend spot right away.”
Cazenave received All-Area honors for 2011-2013 and was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 2A All-State team in 2013 as he helped the Warriors reach the Class 2A state championship series. He was also named to 2013 All-Messenger baseball first team.
As the ace of the Warrior pitching staff his senior year, Cazenave went 10-3 with 108 strikeouts in 81 innings. He finished with a 1.08 earned run average as Westbrook went 25-15 overall and 8-3 in the postseason.
“Mikhail will compete when you put him on the mound,” said Westbrook head baseball coach Matt Kennedy in 2013. “I always called Mikhail ‘Bulldog,’ because he’s always had that mentality of doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Every time Mikhail was out there, we had a chance to win the ballgame.”
With Cazenave in the starting lineup as either pitcher or outfielder since his freshmen year, Westbrook made the state semifinals in 2011 and the quarterfinal round in 2012 and 2010.
“Mikhail has come into our program and worked hard from the very first day,” said Snead State head baseball coach Gerry Ledbetter. “He pushes not only himself but his teammates as well. We are very fortunate to have him on our team.”
Chris McCarthy contributed to this story.