ARKADELPHIA- College baseball players are not like most college students who go home and get a job for the summer. They end up in a small town somewhere across the United States or Canada and play baseball five to six nights a week. They live with a host family (a family in the area who puts them up and feeds them for the summer), and continue to work towards someday playing pro baseball.
“I have played in the Minnesota, Kentucky and now North Carolina and I have loved every minute of it,” senior shortstop Cass Via said. ”I have met some really good people along the way and seen some very good baseball”.
Several current Ouachita Tiger baseball members are performing well during summer league action, including four pitchers with an ERA of 2.0 or less.
Leading the way on the mound for Ouachita is junior Zac Treece, who is a recent All-Star selection after recording a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings pitched, with 43 strikeouts for the Tradewater Pirates in the KIT League. Senior Sam McGill is performing as a dual threat in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, earning a 4-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings on the mound, while also hitting .281 at the plate for the Allegheny Nitros. Junior teammate Beau Martin has joined McGill on the pitching rotation for the Nitros with a 1.46 ERA in 37 innings pitched.
“The summer starts to be a grind and you have to really love going to the park everyday,” Beau Martin said. ”Summer ball is a great way to work on getting better on the mounnd and getting a chance to see different parts of the country”.
Senior pitcher Nick Holtgrieve has performed well in relief effort for the Gastonia Grizzlies in the Coastal Plains League, earning a 1.50 ERA in 12 appearances and 12 innings overall, while sophomore Travis King has logged a multitude of innings on the mound, earning a 7-1 record in 53 innings with a 2.37 ERA.
At the plate, senior Kyle Zimmerman has recorded a .316 average with 12 RBI in 52 at-bats and 19 games for the Sedalia Bombers in the MINK League, while McCrae Jones has produced an impressive .444 average with five RBI in 16 games for the Team Elite Kings of the Walter Johnson League.
Junior All-GSC performer Brock Green is currently hitting .290 in 20 games for the Dodge City A’s in the Jayhawk League, while senior shortstop Cass Via joins teammate Nick Holtgrieve on the Gastonia Grizzlies and has recorded a .264 average in 33 games and is 8-12 in stolen base attempts in Coastal Plains League action. Former Tiger Luke Hardcastle is playing one last summer for the Moose Jaw Express in Canada, he is currently hitting .239 and playing very good defense behind the plate.
A pair of sophomores in Landon Flax and Nick Crump are also competing in summer league action, as Flax is hitting .304 with two doubles and one home run for the Greely Grays in the Mountain Collegiate League, while Crump has been in competition with the Dallas Amateur Baseball Association.
The Tigers will open fall practice in late September and will welcome 14 newcomers to go along with 18 returners.
