Scholar Athlete of the Week – Austin Purdie

FORT MYERS, Fla. ( WMBB ) — This week’s Scholar-Athlete of the Week sponsored by Perry and Young P.A. is Bozeman’s, Austin Purdie.

“He leads by example,” Bozeman head baseball coach Jeff Patton said. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s probably the hardest working kid or one of them that I’ve ever had.”

Purdie transferred to Bozeman for his senior season and was quickly named the starting catcher.

Coach Patton said he’s one of the best catchers the program has had.

“The biggest thing about him is our pitchers can throw any pitch they want, even with runners on third base because they know it’s not going to the backstop,” Patton said. “I don’t know how many runs we have given up that way this year, but it hasn’t been a lot.”

Bozeman’s pitching has been a key strength to the team’s success this season, but Patton credits Purdie for helping those stars on the mound shine.

“He also shuts down the running game,” Patton said. “He throws it down to second base. We haven’t had a lot of guys running on us this year. He’s a pitcher’s dream and a coach’s best friend.”

Purdie plans on playing baseball in college but has not committed anywhere yet. He has his options narrowed down to two schools.

“I’m excited for the coaches,” Purdie said. “I hope I get a really good catching coach, so I can get better.”

Purdie plans on majoring in biology. He wants to become a plastic surgeon with a focus on facial reconstruction.

He has a 4.2 GPA and is dual enrolled at Gulf Coast.

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