‘Burg senior satisfied with successful year in sports

WILLIAMSBURG – Grandma named him.

Mary Sprague selected a biblical prophet for her grandson, Williamsburg High School senior Isaiah Bradford. The ancient Isaiah’s writings are known as the wisdom literature in scripture that foretold the coming of Jesus.

The modern version said he didn’t have a favorite verse from his namesake’s work, but a line from Isaiah 51:1 may well fit one of only two seniors - Lane Edmisten is the other - on the Williamsburg varsity baseball roster this spring.

“Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn,” it says.

Bradford said he’s been looking closely at his community and teams - he played football for the Wildcats in the fall - and appreciating his roots as he prepares for college. He plans to attend the UC Clermont College and study surgery tech.

“I’d have to say (my favorite memory) is probably this whole year,” Bradford said. “It’s been pretty good making it this far in baseball.”

“This far in baseball” translates to Williamsburg’s first appearance in the Division III sectional finals since 2006. The Wildcats fell 13-3 to Madeira in a game that began May 21, was postponed by bad weather and completed May 22.

After the ‘Cats lost four of their five first games to open the season, Williamsburg righted the ship and put together a 6-4 record in the Southern Buckeye Conference National, good for third place, and a 14-10 season overall.

“He’s had a good season,” said Wildcats head coach Shannon Smith of Bradford, his third baseman and cleanup hitter. “He’s anchored it down and done everything we asked him over there. He’s a vacuum. He eats everything up.”

“(Edmisten and Bradford) just kept us steady through the season. We were really young to start the season. You have to be a babysitter or a big brother kind of figure for these younger kids and they’ve been a great example. The last part of the season, especially. We’ve won 10 of our last 13 games (going into the sectional finals).”

In addition to a solid tournament run in baseball, Bradford was part of the Williamsburg football squad that not only reached the playoffs, but hosted an opening-round game for the first time in more than 30 years

“I feel really happy with what we’ve done this year,” Bradford said. “It’s been a lot of fun being on some really good teams. I like to win.”

Bradford started playing baseball in kindergarten and has enjoyed handing down his veteran leadership to the younger players.

“It’s pretty important, but they take lot of leadership themselves, too,” Bradford said. “They listen and they go ahead and do it.”

Smith said that bodes well for the future.

“They’re young, but they’re pretty experienced in terms of playing baseball,” he said. “There’s a lot of select players on the team who play all year. We’ll have almost everybody back and they’ll be that much more experienced. If we can get off to a good start and build some confidence, we could have a pretty good season.”