By Andy Walter

Cape Henlopen High baseball player Nick Cox was voted this week’s State News Athlete of the Week after helping the Vikings win their second DIAA state championship.

In a 2-1 win over St. Mark’s in the semifinals, the junior pitcher allowed only four hits and one run while striking out seven in six-plus innings. He also had two hits in the contest and scored the winning run for the Vikings.

Then, in a 4-1 victory over Appoquinimink in the state finals, Cox had a big pinch-hit, RBI triple in Cape Henlopen’s three-run sixth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. He also scored the Vikings’ fourth run.

For the season, Cox was 8-1 on the mound with a 1.65 ERA. In 49 1/3 innings, the right-hander had 68 strikeouts while opponents hit only .180 against him. Offensively, Cox batted .369.

“Nick has been tremendous on the mound all year for us,” said Cape Henlopen coach Ben Evick. “He has shutdown stuff on the mound and commands his pitches. He is a true competitor and one of the best teammates in the dugout.

“He will challenge any hitter and, regardless of result, he gets back on the rubber ready to throw the next pitch. He despises the pitch-count rules as he always wants to throw complete games and he does an outstanding job with arm care to ensure he is ready for his next start. We are extremely pleased that he will be back next year so we can see how he progresses.”

Andy Walter can be reached at 302-741-8227 or walter@iniusa.org
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