The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN outfielder Pheron Charlton closed out his tenure with the Florida Memorial University Eagles men's baseball team by being named to the Second Team All Sun Conference.

Charlton, a 2012 graduate of St Augustine's College, said he's thrilled to get the honour, especially after the Eagles just missed making the playoffs.

"It feels so sweet with being my last year in college," Charlton said. "t feels good knowing that I'm leaving with something that I worked so far towards. So it's more than an accomplishment than nothing else."

The 22-year-old walks away with some impressive statistics, including a .336 batting average from 149 at-bat with 50 hits, four doubles, a triple, scoring 54 runs and driving in 17 runs (RBI). He also had 32 base on balls (walks), was hit by a pitch 11 times and got struck out in 20 trips to the plate. "The season was great for me from a personal perspective because I hit my regular 57 bases this season, which was my determining goal going into the season," Charlton said. 

"But nonetheless, playing with the guys and travelling on the bus rides for the last time were all a great moment to experience for the last time."

As he looks back at his tenure at FMU, Charlton could not help to admit that it was "sweet" and he will cherish the five years there under a few different head coaches.

"All in all, it was a great experience. I learned a lot, I laughed a lot and I cried a lot because a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it. But I, at the end of the day, I would give it another chance if I had the opportunity because just stepping out on the field with the guys to play a game doesn't get any better than that."

As a graduate student, Charlton said he has some decisions ahead of him to make. "I want to play professional baseball and any aspect to it would be great," he stressed. "I do see myself in some aspect of baseball and so I want to jump on it and take the best of it wherever I go."

Looking back at his tenure at FMU, Charlton said his sophomore year will definitely go down as his most memorial one. He was named an ACC All-American.

"Just having that attached to me brought me some sense of enjoyment for the game," he stated. "It showed me that all of my hard work and dedication paid off. "And out of all of the AACs in America, I was chosen, not only to represent my school, but my country. So that was definitely the highlight of my career here."

If there was any disappointment, Charlton said it would have been this year as they fell two games short of making the playoffs with a 21-27 win-loss record. "I wanted to play a little more baseball because I was done, but that's the part of it, so I just had to go with the flow," he stressed. "But it was disappointing that we didn't make the playoffs."

While he continues to complete his final exams, Charlton expects to graduate on Saturday, May 9, for the second time as he earns his master’s degree in business administration with a focus on marketing and finance. "I did it last year and so it was a great moment to have my family there with me to experience it," he said. "So doing it again, I kind of know what to expect this time."

Charlton, a member of The Bahamas men's national baseball team, noted that playing baseball is not "easy," but when you love what you're doing and you're having a lot of "fun" with it, it makes it so much easier to play.