By Cayden Acord
Staff Writer
“The Wingate University Baseball program will never be the same.”
Those were the words spoken by Los Angeles Angels play-by-play announcer Wayne Randazzo Tuesday night following a game that made Wingate history.
Angels pitcher Mitch Farris walked into Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City ready to make his major league debut against the Royals. Farris achieved this quickly, after only being drafted just over two years ago in the summer of 2023.
It was not only a big night for Farris but a big night for Wingate as well, as he would become the first baseball player from the school to start an MLB game and just the second ever to make it to the major league level.
The night went about as well as it could have gone. Farris shined in five full innings of work, posting a final line of five innings pitched, three hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts on 70 pitches.
After walking his first batter, his first career strikeout came on the very next one against one of the league’s best young players, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Farris was able to settle in using his signature changeup that often fools hitters, despite his fastball only reaching 90-92 mph.
Farris left the game after the fifth inning with the Angels down 1-0, but was quickly put in line for the win after Angels’center fielder and Tuesday’s designated hitter Jo Adell launched a 454-foot two-run homer to left-center to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. Los Angeles added two more runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth to seal the win, giving Farris his first major league win in his debut.
“It’s incredible,” Farris told Fanduel Sports Network’s Erica Weston just before being mobbed by his teammates in celebration. “There’s not much I can say.”
It had been quite the few days for Farris, who was called up all the way from Angels’ Double-A affiliate Rocket City for this start. He had been showing similar domination recently as he had during his time at Wingate, boasting a 1.52 ERA over his last four starts and leading the Southern League in strikeouts before he was called up on Monday.
He had his parents and about 15 other friends and family make the trip to Kansas City for the game from Palm Harbor, Fla., where he spent some of his childhood. Farris went to high school in Charlotte, where he was born.
“I heard them and I saw them, it means the world that they’d come out for me,” Farris said when asked what it meant to have them in attendance. “I’m getting emotional talking about it right now.”
Farris was a star for Wingate during his final two years and specifically the 2023 season as a redshirt junior. He ranked among the nation’s best in every statistical category, finishing the year with an 11-1 record that included a staggering 1.21 ERA, .128 average allowed with a WHIP of 0.62, 127 strikeouts and 39 hits allowed with an 11-1 record.
These stats allowed him to pile up numerous awards, including South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. The 2023 season along with his career collegiate stats—a 1.92 ERA, 20-3 record, 237 strikeouts, .172 batting average over 177 innings pitched—were enough for him to be selected in the 14th round of the MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. Farris was traded on Dec. 21 of last year to the Angels for Davis Daniel and remained in Double-A before his call-up on Monday.
Farris showed the coaching staff enough during his first start to earn a second on Sunday, where he and the Angels returned home to Angel Stadium to host the Athletics. Farris once again pitched well, going six full innings allowing three hits and two earned runs off of two solo home runs in the third and seventh innings.
He was in line for the win before the Athletics rallied off of reliever Reid Detmers in the eighth leaving him with a no decision, but the Angels were able to walk away with a 4-3 victory.
Farris holds a stellar 2.45 ERA through his first two starts, and while it remains to be seen how long he will remain on the big league roster, he is showing quickly that he has the potential to be a key part of the Angels’ rotation for years to come.
Wingate Triangle 