Heading into the 2011 baseball season, it was known White County would have a competitive team. But the Warriors, led by the pitching duo of seniors David Sosebee and Luke Crumley, ended up reaching heights historic to the program.

The Warriors finished 20-4 in 8-AAA, which earned them the first region title in program history.

A big reason why was Sosebee. From the mound, the 6-1, 180-pound right-hander went 10-1 with a 0.61 ERA while striking out 115 batters in 66 2/3 innings. Opponents hit just .145 against him. All were team highs.

He was also a force at the plate, batting a team-high .386 to go with 10 homers and 30 RBIs.

For his efforts, Sosebee is The Times 2011 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year.

“We definitely had high expectations going into the season,” Sosebee said. “The seniors wanted to go out with a bang, so to speak. I felt competitive as ever, and I thought we had a good chance of making it far.

“We made it further than any team here before and we played great as a team.”

Sosebee was nearly unhittable on the mound. With a fastball in the low 90s that he was able to mix with a curveball and change-up, opponents were on tilt all season long.

“He had excellent command of all his pitches,” Warriors coach John Brown said. “If he walked two people in a game, it was a surprise. One of the keys with him is he can easily throw any of his pitches at any time. Against (defending region champs and area rivals) Gainesville, he had outstanding confidence and control to beat them. He threw a lot of 3-2 curveballs for strikes. That takes a lot of confidence.”

Pitching has been a staple of Sosebee’s game since he arrived at White County as a freshman. In fact, he only lost three games in his prep career.

“You knew when you put him out there, you’d get a good performance,” Brown said.

However, unique to his senior season, Sosebee became an equal threat at the plate, breaking out for a big offensive year.

“I knew it was the last time I’d get to swing the bat,” said Sosebee, “so I just left it all out there.”

Added Brown, “I wasn’t expecting that, honestly. I thought he’d do well on the mound, but the offensive part was a real pleasant surprise. He had some really big hits, some home runs and things that got us back into the game.”

As Sosebee put up big numbers, the Warriors continued to win. In addition to his performance against Gainesville in a 6-3 win in the second game of the season, he also hit a walk-off home run late in the season in a 3-2, eight-inning win over Monroe Area.

The Monroe Area win was crucial, as the Warriors would end the season in a three-way tie atop the 8-AAA standings along with Gainesville and North Hall. The tie-breaker went to White County for its record against the Red Elephants and Trojans — the Warriors were a combined 3-1 against those teams.

“(Beating North Hall and Gainesville) was something we hadn’t done on a regular basis in the past,” Sosebee said. “So that was a big thing for us. We thought if we could beat them, we could beat any team in the playoffs.”

In the Class AAA state playoffs, as a No. 1 seed, the Warriors swept through Carrollton with wins from Crumley and Sosebee, but were eliminated the next round in three games by Allatoona. Game 3 went to 10 innings, but the Warriors lost 7-6.

“It was a great year for our team,” Sosebee said. “It was huge for our program, and we needed that to get White County baseball off to a good start.”

Though Sosebee’s White County days are behind him, his baseball career is far from over. Along with Crumley, he’s received a full scholarship to play for the University of Georgia, and the two are already attending summer classes and working out with the Bulldogs.

However, in last week’s MLB amateur draft, the Boston Red Sox selected Sosebee in the 48th round.

“Me and some friends were sitting by the computer in my dorm room watching the draft, and Luke started going crazy because he saw my name come up,” Sosebee said. “It was fun, and it’s something that doesn’t happen often.”

The Red Sox are flying Sosebee, along with all their 2011 draft picks, to Boston on Wednesday, and he’ll attend a day game against the San Diego Padres. After the game, Sosebee will live out a dream. The draft picks will split into squads for a scrimmage at Fenway. They’ll play another scrimmage at the historic park on Thursday. Their performances will be evaluated, and at some point, signing bonuses will be offered.

At that time, Sosebee will make a decision on whether to attend Georgia or begin his professional baseball career.

“I’m just going to go up there and have fun,” Sosebee said. “There’s no pressure. If I don’t get what I need (signing bonus-wise), I’ll go back to Georgia. A good experience is what I’m looking forward to.”