Full Count

by E.A. Coe

Two division three college baseball players experience a charmed baseball season together that leads to a berth for their team, The Monarchs, in the NCAA Championship tournament. Along the way, they find that neither the game nor life is always predictable.

312 pages, ebook

Published March 17, 2018

About the author

Award-winning author, E. A. Coe … is F. Coe Sherrard, a former United States Naval aviator and career businessman, who is retired and lives in Edinburg, Virginia. A graduate of Western Maryland College (now called McDaniel College), he was a senior executive in two entertainment companies, including Spirit Cruises and Herschend Family Entertainment (manager of the Dollywood Theme Park). Married to Jean since 1971, Coe has three children and seven grandchildren.

Coe won a gold medal in the 2023 International Readers Favorite Book competition in the Crime Fiction genre for Pedaling West.

Reviews

[Asher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Count by F. Coe Sherrard is a fictional sports drama that revolves around two key players on the Lefton College baseball team, Shane Reynolds and Charlie Hamilton. As a standout star in his high school years, the addition of having Shane as a pitcher on Lefton's Division III team is a boon when paired with senior catcher Charlie. The two are like peas and carrots both on the field and off, bringing a school that had been previously disregarded for contention on the road to the National Championships. Meanwhile, the relationship between the boys leaves Charlie's mother in a heartbreaking turmoil as she struggles to come to terms with a secret that could upend everything she holds dear and loves most.

Full Count by F. Coe Sherrard is a clean and interesting tale that delivers the kind of warm fuzzies that most sports stories are expected to offer these days. The small college setting makes for a comfortable underdog where the personal lives of the players and their families, as well as their time on the diamond, mesh together pretty well. The book is written as a drama as opposed to a suspense, so the revelation of the future rising action is written into the first act. This is something of a double-edged sword since it does a good job of laying an undercurrent of tension that carries through, but also softens the climax – which is visible from second base. Overall Full Count is a really good, genuinely feel good book that will appeal to readers of the genre.

Review written for Readers' Favorite.

[Elizabeth Cottrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is a personal friend and a much-admired business leader in our community. Publishing a book was on his "bucket list." Many of us bought the book to support him and were delighted to find out he had written a very engaging story with nicely-developed characters and a refreshing paucity of violence or vulgarity (none, in fact!)

The aging baseball coach of tiny, Division III Lefton College has succeeded in recruiting an ace high school pitcher, Shane Reynolds. As soon as Shane meets the team's catcher, senior Charlie Hamilton, they form a personal and professional bond, and together they lead the team to the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament.

But when Charlie's mother hears about the new recruit, his last name triggers old memories and events she had hoped would stay hidden. As the team advances towards the championship, she prepares herself—and her husband and father—for the inevitable encounter with Shane's family.

Baseball lovers will really enjoy the vivid play-by-play accounts of several games. Others may get bogged down in these sections, but don't let it keep you from finishing the book. I was somewhat distracted by the use of italicization for all conversations, but these are an editor's quibble for a book that gave great reading pleasure.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a brief description, I thought this book was about a Division III college baseball team. Part of it is, but another part is about the families of two players, Charlie and Shane. Can’t go into detail without giving away too much of the story.

Most of characters seemed like great people. They almost seemed too perfect. This book would make an excellent Hallmark Channel movie.

This book started out very slowly for me. In fact, I originally started it months ago, put it aside and went back to it recently.

The baseball team is given a lot of attention, as is a lot of detail from many of their games during the season. This is not, however, a baseball book. Might be a good YA book for some readers.