Full Count
At tiny Lefton College, expectations for the coming baseball season have never been higher.
A gifted freshman pitcher has chosen Lefton over bigger, more prestigious programs. A talented senior catcher is determined to make his final season count. And surrounding them are parents, coaches, teammates, and friends carrying ambitions—and secrets—of their own.
What begins as a season filled with promise soon becomes something none of them expected.
As relationships form and old ones are tested, choices made years earlier begin casting long shadows over the present. Friendships deepen. Loyalties are challenged. And the people of Lefton discover that sometimes the most important moments in life have nothing to do with winning or losing.
Against the backdrop of one unforgettable college baseball season, FULL COUNT is a story about fathers and sons, mothers and choices, friendship and family—and the moments when life gives us one last chance to decide what really matters.
Because sooner or later, every secret reaches a full count.
In baseball, a full count demands a decision. So does life.
Why You Might Enjoy This Story…
Full Count was my first full-length novel, completed mostly from behind the counter of the restaurant I owned before I retired. I had carried the basic plot around in my head for years and finally decided to try to make a book out of it. The process was more difficult than I anticipated, but I learned a lot!
I learned even more during the next three years as I published two additional books—including that my initial effort with Full Count wasn’t very polished. I rewrote the book in 2023 and changed the cover, fixing many of the obvious mistakes of the first publication. Then, when I began narrating the chapters for an audiobook edition in 2026, I realized the manuscript needed another update.
Through its revisions, the story never changed, and it remains one of my favorites. Against the backdrop of an exciting college baseball season, the more important themes of the novel relate to love, relationships, family, and the importance of teamwork—on and off the field. Attentive readers will discover that the strongest characters aren’t the two male protagonists, but three strong women behind them.
Beginning with my first novel, strong female characters have become a subtle hallmark for all my novels and poetry. I come from a long line of dauntless women, am married to one, and related to several others by either blood or marriage. I needed no research to create similar feminine characters for my stories.
Among friends, I refer to Full Count as my “Hallmark Movie,” and if doesn’t represent life the way it always is—it at least presents it the way it could be.
A Special Musical Tribute to Full Count
The opening poem in Full Count, “Rounding Third,” was set to music and performed by local entertainer Bill Foster. His interpretation captures the spirit of the novel—and its reminder that life is about much more than winning or losing.
Click Play below to listen.
Full Count - Rounding Third
What Reviewers Are Saying
“This is just a great read. E.A. Coe is quite a talented writer and it’s fun reading his work. it was fun learning about baseball and the players and they’re working together and the wisdom of their coach.”
★★★★★
Kay
Verified Purchase Amazon customer
“A clean and interesting tale that delivers the kind of fuzzies most sports stories are expected to offer…”
★★★★★
Jamie Michel
Readers’ Favorite
“… a wonderful story about college baseball, but even more about family and what defines a family.”
★★★★★
Diane
Verified Purchase Amazon customer