(Editors Note: This is the fourth of a five part series on standout student/athletes in the “Southern Six” that recently completed their careers and graduated.)

By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Writer

OCEAN SPRINGS — Of the 10 players listed on the starting line-up card for Ocean Springs in its final game of a solid season, seven of those names were seniors.
Included in that group were a couple of all-stars, a Troy signee that earned First Team Class 7A All-State status, several All-Region 4-7A picks and a few junior college bound standouts as well.

However, none may leave a void in the Greyhound program that the likes of senior standout Adam Clower will.
Over the past few seasons, Clower has been part of an OSHS squad that has captured three straight league titles and won 67 games over that span. He was a mainstay on several fronts in his final campaign, which saw the Greyhounds go 25-2 overall, and post the most wins in a single season in almost two decades, since OSHS won the state title in 2008.
Clower’s effectiveness is reflected in numbers across several different aspects of the game, from the plate, to the mound to the field. But, according to OSHS head coach Ryne Long, the intangibles that the 6-foot-2, 210-pound force displayed off the field were immeasurable as well.
“With a guy like that, there’s really no way to measure what he’s meant to our program,” Long, who just finished his third season at the helm of the Greyhounds, said. “That on top of the numbers he put up in his career, he was invaluable probably was the best way to put it. He’s the definition of consistency, a great team guy, and he brought a quiet confidence to our team.”

This season, Offensively Clower hit .284 with 20 runs batted in and five doubles with one home run. Then, when Long summoned him to the mound, he registered a 3-0 mark in seven appearances with a tiny earned run average of just 1.00.
Then, at first base, Clower earned a reputation as one of the best defenders in South Mississippi as he committed just one error in 180 total chances in 30 games on defense.
“Adam was always the guy at the plate in a big spot, even in his sophomore year, and he’d find a way to deliver.” Long added. “He had huge outings as a starter and reliever on the mound, and the countless runs he saved at first, he’s as good of a defensive first baseman as you’ll see. Any program would miss a guy like that from a production standpoint but what we’ll miss the most is the person and teammate Adam is. He was a leader in the locker room, that whole group really, and it meant something to those guys to leave the program better than they found it.”
Clower is headed to Poplarville to be a part of the Pearl River Community College baseball program next season.