Christian Walker wears the nortoriously unlucky number "13" on the back of his baseball jersey, but it’s pretty safe to say, it's been almost the exact opposite for him during his past two years at South Carolina.
On Tuesday night, he helped Carolina win their second straight College World Series by going two for four en route to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Gators.
Walker managed to get on base three times -- with an injured wrist. An injury that almost prohibited him from playing in the series.
But the College World Series is not the first taste of success that the Limerick, Pa.-raised first baseman has had. At Kennedy-Kenrick High School, he was ranked number one high school player in the state. He was taken in Round 49 of the 2009 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to ESPN.com.
Instead of heading to the Major Leagues, Walker decided to attend the University of Carolina where he was an All-America selection and named to the CWS All-Tournament team his freshman year.
In the championship series against UCLA last year, he hit four for nine and scored a run as South Carolina took home the title.
Mike Manning coached Walker for several years on his All-Star Baseball Academy team in West Chester during Walker's high school years.
“I’ve known Christian since he was nine, I always knew he was going to be a talent,” Manning told NBC Philadelphia.
Christian had committed to South Carolina by his junior year in high school and Manning says the question was always when, not if, Walker would become recognized as a star player.
With two great years under his belts, two national championships and a possible MLB career in the future, don’t bet against Walker reaching stardom.
