By Roslyn Ryan, Editor

Powhatan’s own super slugger, Hunter Gordon, has made it official.

The 2009 Powhatan High School grad, who earned Player of the Year honors in the Southside District last year, will head to West Virginia Tech outside of Charleston to play baseball for the Golden Bears.

Gordon says he accepted the full ride after meeting the coaching staff, who approached him after the Indians played in the Mingo Bay Classic Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last spring.

The pitcher/first baseman had also fielded offers from High Point and VMI, but says he felt West Virginia’s program would be the best fit.

Despite Gordon’s intimidating appearance — he was mistaken at least once this year for an assistant coach by an umpire — the soft spoken leader rarely let his emotions get the better of him on the field.

While his leadership and crushing bat were surely appreciated by his teammates, Gordon has one moment from his time as an Indians that he holds particularly dear: hitting a homerun in the first inning of the Indians 2008 State Championship win, the first State win for the program.

Gordon insists he is excited about moving to the next level, but that he knows he’ll be leaving behind a truly special program.

He will miss the coaches the most he said last week, but also the fans who lined the fences for each and every game.

“I just really want to say that I appreciate all the support from the community,” said Gordon. “They were always with us through the good and the bad times.”