Athlete of the Week: Tony Gurry

Tony Gurry’s final prep season on the diamond didn’t quite end the way he expected — rather, it ended even better that The Out-of-Door Academy pitcher and catcher could’ve imagined.

The senior co-captain led the Thunder throughout its history-making season, which included the school’s first baseball district championship and trip to the Class 1A regional championship series.

“Winning a district championship has definitely been a goal of ours since I started playing here, so have the first district championship at the school is pretty special,” Gurry said.

Gurry pitched a complete game shutout against Oldsmar Christian in the regional quarterfinals before allowing two runs on seven hits in a rain-shortened 4-3 loss to Tampa Cambridge Christian in game 1 of the regional championship series May 15.

“This is definitely the best year to go out on,” Gurry said. “The season had to end sometime, and this was definitely the best way to end it.”

Gurry began playing baseball when he was 6 years old and joined ODA’s baseball team as a freshman.

Not known for paying much attention to statistics, Gurry had undoubtedly his best season this spring. Gurry finished the season 3-4 with a 2.89 ERA and 33 strikeouts. At the plate, Gurry held a .444 batting average with 44 hits, with five triples and three homeruns, and 36 RBIs.

This fall, Gurry will attend Elon University, where he plans to study international business and possibly try to walk on to either the baseball or football team.

“I can’t imagine not playing sports in college,” Gurry said. “I think I would get bored, so I’ll probably have to do something.”