Ethan May signs his national letter of intent to play baseball at William Peace University in the North Lenoir High School media center on Tuesday. On hand for his signing were, from left, his stepmother, Amber May; his father, Jeff May; and his mother, Sara May. Photo by Bryan Hanks / Neuse News

By Bryan Hanks

LA GRANGE — A work ethic that duly impressed his baseball coach at North Lenoir and the coaching staff at Raleigh’s William Peace University has helped Ethan May go from being a Hawk to a Pacer.

In front of a couple dozen teammates, classmates, coaches and family members, May signed his national letter of intent Tuesday afternoon to play baseball in the North Lenoir media center.

“It’s a good baseball program and I can’t wait to get started,” May said of Peace, which finished 9-26 this season, 5-18 in the USA South Conference.

Massey said at one point in May’s junior season, the youngster came to Massey and asked how to get more playing time at first base.

“We had two pretty good first basemen last year,” Massey recalled. “I told him … ‘you’re not going to play at first.’ I told him his focus needed to be getting innings on the mound as a junior and work towards being our first baseman his senior year.

“That’s exactly what he did.”

Massey said May’s work ethic during fall and winter workouts was amazing. According to the coach, May was one of only three Hawks who didn’t miss a workout during the offseason.

“Ethan flat-out put the work in,” Massey said. “He deserves every bit of this success he’s gotten.”

May admitted he needed to work to gain his coach’s trust.

“I know I got a little reputation of being a little lazy before this year, but I just wanted to put every bit of work I could into this and work hard,” May said. “

May, who is planning to major in exercise and sports science and will join Hawks teammate Peyton Howard at Peace, helped lead the Hawks to a 17-6 finish this season, which included a 9-3 mark in the Eastern Carolina 2A, good enough for second place in the league.

“This was one of the best seasons I’ve ever been a part of,” May said. “Playing with my friends and playing under Coach Massey one more time made it a great season all the way around.”

May’s parents said they were proud of their son.

“He deserves this 100 percent,” his mother, Sara May, said.

His father, Jeff May, said, “We’ve been thinking about this day since he was 6 or 7 — that’s when he started thinking about playing in college.”