JUSTIN HALL

For the past four seasons, Gilbert High graduate Jared Williams has been a mainstay and featured hometown player on the Lexington County Blowfish roster.

Starting his career at the University of South Carolina, through injuries and transfers, he’s found his way to North Greenville University. This season saw the Crusaders tie a school record tallying 46 wins and recording the first NCAA tournament win in school history.

Through the changes and transitions, the one common thread has been Jared playing baseball in the summer under the lights of Lexington County Baseball Stadium.

“Since the inaugural season in 2015 in Lexington County, one of the Blowfish objectives was to sign a number of collegiate players that grew up in Lexington County and attended Lexington County Schools,” Blowfish co-owner Bill Shanahan said. “A great way to have your family, friends and neighbors truly root for the ‘home team’”.

“Jared Williams has been with us from the start in 2015. Not only is he a talented baseball player, Jared has been from the very beginning, a fan favorite and continues to show his commitment to his home town of Gilbert and Gilbert High by returning each summer to play for the Home Team in Lexington County,”

Shanahan described how Jared’s presence encapsulates the vision of the Lexington County Blowfish.

“Its been one of our main goals to provide local collegiate players an opportunity to play summer collegiate baseball in their own community,” he said. “It provides a great opportunity to have that emotional connection with the players and fans.”

Williams is regarded as “Mr. Blowfish” by Shanahan. In fact, he’s closing in on tying Tyler McBride’s record of seasons with the Blowfish. Mc-Bride played from 2006-9 as a member of the Columbia Blowfish.

Williams’ 2017 stint in Lexington saw him produce the third-highest average on the team. He had 12 RBI in 41 games in 117 plate appearances.

Those numbers are just one example of the patience Williams has shown throughout his baseball career. After transferring from South Carolina and ending up at North Greenville, things have turned out quite differently for the Gilbert product than maybe he expected coming out of high school.

But that hasn’t seemed to affect him negatively, according to Shanahan.

“Always positive and smiling, Jared has continued to develop his skills of the game each summer at Lexington County Baseball Stadium,” Shanahan said. “We are all proud of him not just as a baseball player, but as a young man giving back to his community here at Lexington County Baseball Stadium.”

Williams’ time back home this summer will look quite a bit different than in years prior. He will be a featured player at all Blowfish baseball camps for local kids.

He will also play a pivotal role in Blowfish appearances in the community, along with possibly working in stadium operations and media operations as well.

It truly is a story of perseverance. Life, especially life in baseball, doesn’t always work out the way you plan.

The game has a rhythm that can be beautiful, but also one that can be disrupted at any point.

The curveballs come a lot more often in life than they do from a right-hander on the mound. Gilbert’s own Williams has made a positive impact across the community amidst the changes.

Listen all season to 92.1 FM “The Lake” for my game calls.