Baseball Pitcher of the Year: Sutton the main man on the mound

After a season filled with lengthy win streaks and blowout victories, Allatoona reached the Class AAAAAA state championship series.

One of the main reasons for the Buccaneers’ success was team leader and star pitcher Ethan Sutton who pitched 61 innings, going 8-1 with a 2.41 ERA and 91 strikeouts against only 22 walks.

For his efforts, Sutton was named the 2022 Cobb County Pitcher of the Year by the county’s coaches.

“It’s a big honor because there’s a lot of great arms and great talent in Cobb County,” Sutton said. “To be able to say that I was named Cobb County Pitcher of the Year is a huge honor, for sure.”

Sutton helped Allatoona begin the season with a 20-game win streak, The Buccaneers went on to finish 35-6, making the state title series for the second time in program history.

“I am happy for him, and I am happy for the program because he is in a line of pitchers that have won it in our program,” Allatoona coach Keith Hanson said. “Him being a junior and to add that credit is an honor for him.”

Sutton said what motivates and drives him to be successful on the field is his competitiveness.

“It’s mental. I work hard, day in and day out,” Sutton said, “so when I go out there and pitch, I believe that I’m better than everybody out there. I try to show everybody why and how much work I put in.

“I just like to compete. I am so competitive, there’s nothing that is keeping me motivated. One pitch could turn out to be the one run that goes over the fence and causes your team to lose, so you have to compete every single pitch.”

When the state playoffs began, Sutton gave up a total of two runs in all four of his starts through the semifinals. He shut out Lanier and Alexander, while giving up single runs in wins over South Effingham and Lassiter.

However, Sutton’s magic over the hitters came to an end in the championship series against Pope.

“The state championship game against Pope, it was definitely a rough one for me,” Sutton said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, and they hit. They knew I didn’t have my best stuff and they were ready for the fastball, and they hit it well.”

Falling one series short of winning the state title, Sutton has already started working with the hope of getting Allatoona back to the championship series.

“I want to make another deep run in the playoffs and win state,” Sutton said. “I really want to leave a legacy. I want people to know, and a lot of the younger kids to know, that Ethan came in there every single day and worked his butt off every single day.”