By T. Scott Boatright
Baseball great Hank Aaron once said that patience and persistence are the keys to overcoming any obstacle.
Grambling State outfielder Trevor Hatton is living proof of just that.
This time last year Hatton was consumed with the thought that his college baseball career and likely hardball days overall were over, ended with a swinging strikeout against Bethune-Cookman in the semifinals of the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament at Russ-Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.
But patience and perseverance combined with a little good fortune paid off for Hatton, giving him the opportunity to propel Grambling to a walk-off win in this weekend’s SWAC Championship on that same field that led to the Tigers earning a berth in the Texas-A&M set to begin on Friday.
“At the end of last season, I really thought that was it for me and baseball,” Hatton said. “I looked for opportunities as the summer progressed, but nothing was really happening.
“And it wasn’t really until there were 2-3 weeks left before the start of the fall semester that looked and realized that I still had a year of eligibility left if I wanted it, and realizing that I could go back to school and work on my graduate degree while getting to play more baseball, and maybe come out of it with a better ending than last season, made my decision pretty easy. I didn’t want the last at bat of my college baseball career to be a strikeout, so I figured why not give it another shot.”
Working on his master’s degree in mass communication, Hatton’s graduate season got off to a solid start before he fell into a midseason slump that saw GSU coach Davin Pierre temporarily pull Hatton from the Tigers’ starting lineup.
“It was tough — it was a frustrating time,” Hatton said. “I knew I was messing up on some of the little things hitting wise, but those little things can get you sometimes, and that’s what happened to me.”
But through patience and perseverance, with the 2024 regular season winding down, Hatton rediscovered his groove.
Like another baseball great — Babe Ruth — once said, never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
And Hatton didn’t.
“It just all kind of fell into place and came together,” Hatton said. “It wasn’t just one thing but a bunch of little things. I just kept pushing and just kind of worked my way out of the slump I had been in. It wasn’t purely mental. It wasn’t purely physical.
“So, I just realized that I had to put the pressure and negativity I was feeling about the way I was playing and just go back to having fun. And playing baseball for me is fun. It’s what I love the most.”
And last weekend, Hatton helped himself to much fun as his groove kept getting hotter and hotter as the Tigers worked their way through the 2024 SWAC Tournament.
After falling to Florida A&M on Thursday, the Tigers reeled off three straight wins, including a 14-4 victory in a rematch against the Rattlers to advance to Sunday’s SWAC Title Game against Jackson State.
Hatton played a key role in that semifinals win over Florida A&M, but that perseverance and patience he’s shown off over the past year paid even more dividends during Sunday’s 6-5 Championship Game win over JSU.
In the bottom of the ninth inning Hatton laid down a grounder that was fielded by Jackson State relief pitcher Christian Womble, who scooped up the ball and fired to his catcher attempting to get a force out at home plate, but the ball skipped away to the backstop allowing two runs to score and secure the first SWAC Tourney Championship for Grambling State since 2010.
“Off the bat it looked pretty good, and I knew I had a chance, so I was just focused on running down to first (base),” Hatton said of his final at bat on Sunday. “And once I saw the bad throw toward home, I immediately started celebrating because the second I saw that happen, I knew the game-winning run was going to score, too.”
All thanks to Hatton’s patience and perseverance.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Hatton said. “Just knowing last year my season had ended on a strikeout — probably my whole career had ended on a strikeout —- that was tough to take.
“So, to be able to come back this season, and get the walk off hit that won it for us and sent us to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in so long, it’s an unbelievable feeling. Like a dream —- a great come true.”
Pierre gives credit where credit is due.
“Trevor is one of the guys I’ve had to learn on coming down the stretch to the SWAC Tourney,” Pierre said. “And he came through. It’s just so great to see him do this and be able to put what happened last year where it belongs — in the past. He never backed down and never gave up and deserves to be on this team taking the field with us against Texas A&M on Friday.”
As far as the future, Hatton said he’s not close to knowing what it might hold. His only focus right now is on Grambling State baseball and the upcoming Texas A&M Regional in College Station, Texas.
“That’s as far ahead as I’ve thought at this point,” Hatton said. “That’s my only focus — just being a part of Grambling State history.
“I’m just looking forward to playing in that atmosphere and seeing everything that competing in an NCAA Regional has to offer. I feel like it’s going to be a great experience.”
