Charles Henderson’s Morgan Shaver no stranger to making final out of big games

Every year hundreds of thousands of young boys across the United States strap on cleats and grab their gloves to take part in America’s Favorite Pastime, baseball.

All of those ball players dream of making the final out of a big game, but few actually get the opportunity to do so, but one Charles Henderson Trojan has done it.

Twice in fact.

Senior second baseman Morgan Shaver will have stories to tell for years to come about making plays the sealed a Junior Dixie Boys World Series title in 2009, and an Alabama High School Athletic Association state title just a few weeks ago.

Shaver remebers his 2009 recreation season fondly.

“It was just a magical season,” Shaver said. “It got to play with a great group of guys and we were able to bring home a World Series, which is the biggest goal you can have.”

In the championship game versus Texas, with runners on first and second with two outs and Troy clinging to a 6-5 lead, Shaver made a sliding stop and flip to first base to seal the win for the Troy team.

“It was in the hole pretty deep,” Shaver said. “But I was able to field it pretty cleanly and make the flip. Then it was celebration time.”

Fast forward nearly five years, and the baseball gods shined on Shaver once again.

Shaver, an anchor in the middle infield for the Charles Henderson Trojans, snagged the final out to secure the school’s second-ever state title.

In the bottom of the seventh inning at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Shaver snagged a bloop hit just past the mound to seal the Trojans’ 7-2 over Brooks.

“I have been telling my family that I may be a little lucky charm or something,” Shaver said with a smile. “We had a pretty comfortable lead, so we were relaxed, but we had some trouble closing the game out. I made an error, and had to shake it off to get the out and the title.”

Shaver finished the season for Charles Henderson with a .316 batting average and scored 25 runs for the Trojans.

On defense, Shaver wrapped up his senior campaign with a .941 fielding percentage, and made just seven errors all season.

As a senior, Shaver went out on top of the Alabama baseball world. He said that he has memories of the season, but pointed to a saying of his head coach as important.

Shaver said that lessons learned on the diamond from head coach Derek Irons will have lasting effect for years to come.

“He always preached to us, next pitch and next out,” said Shaver. “You will get another chance,in ball and other places, and you have to make the most of the opportunity.”