C&F Bank’s Athleteof the Week C& FBa nk AthleteoftheWeek

BaseballStandout

WHO: KENDRICK SHEFFIELD

WHATHEDID:

Itwasagreatendtotheschoolyear forBlessedSacramentHuguenot athleteKendrickShef eld,whosigned hiscelebratoryletterofintenttoplay baseballatAverettUniversity.

Shef eldwasastandoutfootballand baseballplayerinhisloneseasonwith theKnights,helpingthebaseballteam win vegamesasapitcher.

Duringthefootballseason,Shef eld wasnamedaVISFLAll-Statesecond teamhonoreeasadefensiveend, nishingtheyearwith45tackles,two sacks,sixtacklesforlossandtwo forcedfumbles

He’llbejoiningaCougarsbaseball teamcoachedbyKennyFlemingthat featuresarelativelyyoungsquadthat hadjustfourseniorsthispastseason. Shef eldwillbejoiningtheCougars nextfallasapitcher.

ForhisstudiesatAverett,Shef eldwill bemajoringinwildlifebiology.

Dabhade’s journey to the final, and later a state championship after beating Grafton’s Rainer Christiansen on June 10, was a year-long redemption arc after he fell in last year’s state final to Powhatan star Jacob Pfab, who ended his high school tennis career with a long sought after gold medal.

This time, it was Pfab’s doubles running mate Jamison Wallace who stood in the way. After being an overqualified No. 2 on last year’s team, Wallace came out in his second season and looked even better as the team’s undisputed top singles player. Wallace’s quick feet, lethal serve and superior conditioning on prolonged rallies made the reality of a second Powhatan Indian to claim the Class 4 title a very real possibility.

It hasn’t always been easy for the sophomore though, who said it took a few bumps in the road like his two losses to Cosby’s Joseph Braud for him to realize that more work was needed to reach his championship aspirations.

“I was probably projected to win those and I lost both of them, and it opened my eyes to really help me improve,” Wallace said. “It drove me to improve for regionals, and that’s the reason why I’m here today.”

Those improvements were evident when he reached the Class 4, Region B singles tournament, which he entered with a 13-3 record and finished with four more wins, including victories over last year’s regional runner-up Will Hart from Hanover and Courtland transfer and 2023 regional runner-up Keldibek Khozoev.

It was the second year in a row that Wallace was a region champion, with last year’s title coming alongside Pfab in doubles after he won his last singles tournament.

All that led to a battle against Dabhade, which started o in Wallace’s favor after he took a 5-2 lead in the first set. Wallace was certainly familiar with Dabhade due to last season’s connection, but as far as planning for the matchup, much of it had to be learned on the fly.