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After missing almost half the season last year due to injury, Jake Perry had returned to the diamond for the Troup High baseball team with aplomb. The junior has taken the no. 1 starting pitcher’s role for the Tigers and has not looked back this season.

“Not being able to play down the stretch last season was so hard,” Perry said. “It was awesome to be a part of the team as they made the run, but it sucked sitting in the dugout knowing I could help the team.”

Perry took the summer off to get his arm back into pitching shape, and it has paid off so far this season. 

Perry is the ace for Troup pitching staff. He has thrown 30 ⅔ innings while allowing just 19 hits and eight earned runs on 38 strikeouts so far this season. The junior’s ERA sits at just 1.82. Perry is not just putting up empty stats against bad teams, he has been at the heart of the Tigers’ current 12-game winning streak. 

“The whole pitching staff, the pitching coach, the catcher, everybody is on the same page,” Perry said. “I trust those guys and they trust me.”

While Perry’s offense has taken a bit of a dip this season, the all-around player has come through in the clutch for the Tigers. No hit of his this season has been as clutch as the game-winning two-run single he hit to lift Troup over LaGrange in game two between the two rivals.

“It’s hard to put into words what it was like,” Perry said. “When I turned around and saw those guys going home it was a feeling like I haven’t experienced before.”

The Troup baseball team is on the verge of capturing a region title and earning a top-10 seed in the 3A state playoffs. After missing the Tigers’ run to the state quarterfinals last season due to his injury, Perry has been waiting for big moments in big games. 

When Perry is not on the mound for the Tigers, he is starting at third base or shortstop. His strong defensive play is just as important as his work on the mound. 

“Jake is a baseball player and a real athlete,” Troup coach Tanner Glisson said. “I’ve been seeing Jake make plays since he was like nine or 10 years old and he does a really good job no matter where we put him.”

Perry transferred into Long Cane Middle School from Callaway Middle for his eighth grade year. It was a difficult transition, but it was all worth it in the end as he found a family in the Troup baseball program.

“It was difficult at first, but once I got out there and started playing with the guys it made it all worth it,” Perry said. “I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else or put on any other uniform.”