Athlete Spotlight

Kevin Millward is no stranger to the spotlight.

He's only a sophomore, but the Evans athlete already has plenty of accomplishments under his belt.

As a middle-schooler, Millward won a Punt, Pass and Kick national championship in Nashville, Tenn. Last fall, he was named to the AAAA All-State Team as a punter.

Despite all the football success, his heart is on the baseball diamond.

"I like baseball the best," he said. "I'd like to go play baseball in college and maybe punt for the football team."

He can choose from a number of different colleges. Even though the Evans standout is only a sophomore, he's already received interest from Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia and Auburn. On Monday morning, Evans baseball coach Ricky Beale handed him three more letters from colleges hoping to establish an early connection with the sophomore.

"That's a positive," Beale said. "He's still got to keep working and getting better."

Millward's accomplishments on the football field wane in comparison to what he's done for the Evans baseball team this year. In the Knights' first five games, Millward has hit two home runs.

His best performance this year came against Richmond Academy last Friday. Millward hit 3-for-3 with three runs and four RBI, including an opposite-field home run in the fourth inning that easily cleared the right-field wall.

He can also get the job done on the mound. In his two pitching appearances this year, Millward has allowed only five hits in eight innings. A complete-game win in the season opener against Burke County and a win in three innings of work against Lincoln County gave Millward a 2-0 record so far this year.

Millward's pitching has gone a long way in filling the holes after the team lost all four of last year's starting pitchers to graduation.

"Our pitching staff can do as well as they did last year," Millward said. "I want to show everyone what our team has."

Millward and the Knights will get their chance on Friday. Evans and Greenbrier, both ranked in the top 10 in the state, will face off Friday at Evans.

According to Millward, there's no doubt his Knights come into the game as the underdog.

"Definitely. I like to think we aren't, but everybody thinks we're not going to beat Greenbrier," he said. "I want to prove them wrong."