SPANISH FORT, Alabama — Spanish Fort left-hander Heith Brown signed to play baseball for Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette on Wednesday.

“It feels good to expand my career and I’m especially glad I get to do it at a place like Faulkner,” he said. “Coach (Wayne) Larker knows so much about the game. The environment for baseball there is amazing. The coaching staff is impeccable. And it’s always good to get to keep playing with family.”

He will join his brother Troy next year who is a freshman at FSCC.

“I like to utilize my defense and pitch to get outs,” Heith added. “I just keep the ball low and let my guys get it done behind me. It saves pitch count and challenges them (other team) to swing at the close ones. Gets us back in and gives the offense a chance to score for us.”

Brown has a 7-1 record with 45 strikeouts in 50 innings with a save this far into his senior season as the Toros host the state semifinals Friday.

So far his earned run average of 2.4 has helped lead the team back to the final-four for the third-straight year. He has also averaged just one walk every other inning this year.

SF head coach Tommy Walker said watching Brown develop into a successful starter on the mound has been exciting.

“He’s a competitor who loves to go out and get the job done. He adapts, he changes speed well and they don’t hit the barrel a lot on him and when they don’t hit the barrel a lot on a pitcher, that is a good thing. The thing about Heith that has been fun to see is he has finally come into his on. Sometimes younger brothers have to kind of find themselves after the older brother leaves and Heith has found

himself. It has been really fun to see. As a coach you don’t ever compare one brother to another. It’s just been exciting to see him kind of become his own man and his own player.”

Walker added that Brown has a good combination of mental and physical toughness.

“He’s adapted for being a little bit banged up but he’s fine now. There are times where his knee was hurting him the whole time but now he is good to go. He has matured so well, learned the value of patience and just handled the weight of being the first guy out there (opening-game pitcher in the playoff series) and come through. I’m just so proud of him.”

Brown suffered a collision injury to the back of the knee while going for a foul ball during the regular season, but returned with some discomfort in time for the playoffs.

Larker said he was happy to add another Brown to the Sun Chiefs' lineup.

“He is a good-sized youngster and comes from a good bloodline,” he said. “We have his brother (Troy) as a competitor. We saw him on the mound early and even when he wasn’t pitching his best physically he was competing, hanging in games and winning some games when they were down early in the year. Like many lefties, Brown has a lot of natural movement on his pitches, but has —like a few — learned to control the movement well.

“If you want to talk about one point, I like his curveball,” Larker said. “Some days the slider will work and other days the breaking ball, either way he’s got it covered here.”

The son of Bena and Sabrina Brown, Heith plans to major in criminal justice.