Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low around 55F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..
Tonight
Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low around 55F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Spring Valley’s Branson McCloud (18) gets congratulations after hitting a two-run home run during an MSAC baseball tournament semifinal against Cabell Midland last Wednesday.
Spring Valley’s Branson McCloud (18) gets congratulations after hitting a two-run home run during an MSAC baseball tournament semifinal against Cabell Midland last Wednesday.
SPRING VALLEY — Larry McCloud was known for his big hits, but his son Branson made a reputation for preventing them.
On Friday, Branson McCloud signed to play baseball for Marshall University, where his dad starred in football from 1994 through 1997. A linebacker known as one of the harder hitters in program history, former Buffalo-Wayne High School All-State selection Larry McCloud is in MU’s Hall of Fame.
Branson, though, has avoided hard contact on the diamond. According to the Spring Valley stat sheet, this season he has given up 20 hits in 33 innings. McCloud’s fastball sits 85 to 87 mph and has scraped 89. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-hander also throws a curve and change-up and is working on a slider.
“I like Marshall because it’s really close,” said Branson McCloud, who also considered West Virginia State and West Virginia Wesleyan. “I like being around my family. Playing at Marshall is special. It means a lot to me. I’m happy they offered me.”
The young hurler said he plans to major in health science. He signed as a pitcher, but said he is ready to hit if needed. Hit, he can. The All-Stater has seven home runs and 41 runs batted in.
He’s batting .405, slugging .738 and reaching base at a .474 clip in leading the Timberwolves to a 21-7 record and the Mountain State Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
“Branson’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent who comes along. Hitting, pitching, he’s been one of the top talents we’ve ever had at Spring Valley,” Timberwolves coach Austin Pratt said.
Branson McCloud is 3-1 with a 1.26 earned run average. He has struck out 46, walked 14 and recorded three saves. He played one season of youth football, but never felt pressured to play it nor to go to Marshall. Larry McCloud said he and wife Stephanie are blessed with the opportunity for their son to play for the Thundering Herd.
“We just wanted him to go work hard and do what’s in his best interest,” said Larry McCloud, who gave up baseball as a junior in high school to concentrate on football. “He’s done that. He’s his own person. He’s worked hard for this opportunity to play four more years and get an education doing so.”
Branson McCloud said he looks forward to playing in Marshall’s new ballpark, scheduled to open for the 2024 season. Larry McCloud said it reminds him of his own career, watching what was Marshall Stadium and now is Joan C. Edwards Stadium being built when he was in high school.
Larry McCloud can offer Branson the perspective of having been a college athlete.
“Just do the little things right,” Larry McCloud said. “I had great coaches along the way and played with great athletes. Jim Donnan and Bobby Pruett gave me great advice going through, and I try to relay that to him. If you do the little things right, the big things will take care of themselves.”
