MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / June 17, 2000

LUTCHER – Rusty Crosslin worked hard to become a starter with Lutcher after his sophomore year.

Recently that hard work paid off again as Crosslin signed a scholarship to play baseball at Pearl River College.

“I liked the campus,” Crosslin said. “The coach was right up front with youand that caught my eye. It’s a good academic school. I considered otherschools but when it came down to it, I knew where I wanted to go.”Crosslin said he was told he would be used at shortstop and pitcher. ThePoplarville, Miss., school went 31-20 in 2000 and advanced to the regionals.”The pace of the game is going to faster and the pitcher is going to be better,” Crosslin said. “I think I’ll be ready for it.”Crosslin was the District 9-3A MVP in 2000 after helping the Bulldogs to the district title. The senior second baseman batted .421 with four home runs,five stolen bases and 18 runs batted in.

On the mound, Crosslin went 7-2 with a 2.78 earned run average and 53strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.

“He’s one of the best we’ve had,” Lutcher coach Scott Tribble said. “He wentout and gave it his all. He had strong desire, he worked hard and got better.That’s how he got to this point.

“He was a great student and a great person. We were fortunate to havehim.”

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