CityView Magazine

42 October 2021 Marty Warren thinks the key to his son's success are the pitches he's developed. Seeing her son make it to the major leagues was always a dream for Alana Hix. After all, she had seen him with a bat or ball in his hand from the time he was a toddler. life, Austin's older sister Keely just assumed everybody who played the sport made it to the major leagues. She finally started to figure out how things really worked by the time her brother was pitching in high school, but her faith in him making it to the majors never faltered. "I think it's everyone who tried to tell him no,'' she said. "No, we're not going to recruit you. You're too little. You're not this. You're not that. "He never let anyone have that final word of no. You tried to tell him no, but he wasn't going to take it. I think that's what kept him going.'' A cheerleader at East Carolina University, Keely worked in the school's athletic department and had frequent contact with the baseball coaches. "I'd say, 'Hey, go watch him, he's worth it,''' she said. "ey never did, and I think they have probably lived to regret it now.'' When Austin got that life-changing call in July, his entourage of family and friends mobilized to make sure they would be there when he made his debut on the mound against Oakland on July 29. Keely had hopped jets spanning the globe and pulled up just 30 minutes before first pitch. Mom Alana was there and so was Dad Marty. Coach Guy also came out for the game and ran into an old co-worker from Jack Britt High School who just happened to be in California at the time. Joe Myrtle and wife Melanie were traveling with his daughters and members of the Jack Britt soball team. When Myrtle found out Austin was with the Angels, he took his family and the Britt players to the game. ere they met up with Guy and joined the Austin Warren cheering section in the stands. e Angels lost to the Oakland A's, 4-0, but Austin had a perfect debut. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowed no runs, walks or hits, and recorded his first major league strikeout. He entered the game in the seventh inning with two out and the bases loaded and got Ramon Laureano to ground out and end the inning. In the eighth, he retired all three batters on a groundout, fly ball and strikeout. "I remember him saying he fills the zone and trusts his defense,'' Marty said, repeating a quote for which Austin became known when he was at UNC-Wilmington. "He puts a lot of faith in himself to go out there and do his job. e ones they hit, he's got guys who can field it. I think he realizes, the farther you go up the ladder, defense is exceptional in the majors.'' And so is the level of support. "People in this community I haven't talked to for several years call and say what a good job he's done and that they're watching,'' Marty said. "He's a good kid that appreciates everybody for supporting him.'' Since the night of the debut, Hix has tried to make as many games as she can, with the help of her status as Keely's registered companion with American Airlines. Austin's parents Marty Warren and Alana Hix talk with a broadcaster. PHOTO COURTESY ANGELS BASEBALL

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