The University of West Georgia baseball team recently closed out a stellar season and a local product played a leading role.
The Wolves finished 2016 with a 42-16 overall record, coming in second in the Gulf South Conference tournament at the end of the regular season and earning a berth in the NCAA Division II South Regional for the first time in nearly 20 years.
At the regional in Tampa in late May, the team lost its opening game before winning three straight, including an elimination victory over the host team and defending national champion University of Tampa.
The season ended with a loss in the final game of the loser’s bracket to Delta State, the same team that eliminated the Wolves from the conference tournament.
Nevertheless, reaching the regional was a major accomplishment for this team, which included second baseman Artemis Kadkhodaian, formerly of Starr’s Mill High.
“It’s huge for us,” he said during an interview in Tampa. “We’ve played in conference tournaments, two or three games and going out. This year we had a good regular season and conference tournament, and to get here is just great.”
A .297 hitter this season, Kadkhodaian led the Wolves with 10 home runs and 18 stolen bases, often batting leadoff, and was the team leader in at-bats. He played in all 58 games and started all but one. The junior is a three-year starter for UWG.
At Starr’s Mill as a senior he helped the Panthers reach the state semifinals and was recognized as one of the top players in Region 4-AAAAA. Moving from high school to college baseball, however, is no small leap.
“It’s a big difference. The game is faster at any college level. The pitching is faster, the runners are faster, everything is faster,” he said. “It’s a big adjustment but it’s a fun adjustment. It’s good to come out here and try to be the best you can.”
The most recent honor came earlier this week when Kadkhodaian was named to the 2016 Gulf South Conference Spring All-Academic Team. An accounting major, he has a 3.41 GPA.
One of Kadkhodaian’s teammates at UWG is also a familiar face to local fans. Jake Wilkinson, a sophomore, hails from Whitewater and was a member of a state runner-up team while with the Wildcats.
