Players seeing action in summer leagues
7/21/2016 10:01:00 AM | Baseball
Scatted across North America to play in wooden-bat summer leagues, Sam Houston baseball players continue to hone their hitting, pitching and fielding.
“They've all gone out and competed and gotten better,” head coach Matt Deggs said. “They've had very productive summers. We're really appreciative of them going out and continuing to work on their game and representing Sam Houston in a great way. What it's all about is continuing to go out and get innings on the mound and continuing to get at-bats, just grinding, getting better and having fun.”
Starting center fielder Bryce Johnson played in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, for the Falmouth Commodores. His time in Massachusetts also allowed him to work out at historic Fenway Park. He was teammates with players like Brady Singer, a pitcher for the Florida Gators who was picked in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays; Florida State pitcher Cole Sands; JJ Matijevic, first baseman for national runner-up Arizona; as well as TCU outfielder Josh Watson and catcher Evan Skoug.
“Anytime you can keep competing, it's a good thing,” Deggs said. “Regardless if the guy is from a big school or a junior college, it doesn't really matter when you get across the white lines. Age and school or anything like that, the game doesn't differentiate. It's all about competing and playing hard and continuing to get better.”
Third baseman Andrew Fregia is spending his summer playing in the Northwoods League for the Thunder Bay Border Cats in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Fregia played in the Northwoods League All-Star Game in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Clayton Harp, Garret Miller and Barrett Koerselman are in Boulder, Colorado, playing for the Boulder Collegians in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League. Jordan Cannon, Josh Biles, Jaxxon Grisham and Riley McKnight are with the Hutchinson Monarchs in the National Baseball Congress in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Mac Odom, Riley Cooper, Hunter Hearn and Dakota Mills are seeing action in the Texas Collegiate League for the Victoria Generals. Earlier in the summer, Hearn played for the Liberal Bee Jays in Liberal, Kansas, in the Jayhawk Collegiate League.
“I do think the caliber of ball that some of our guys got to play this summer has definitely helped them,” Deggs said. “There's a big learning curve in this game. The more at-bats, the more innings pitched, the more time in the field, the better you're going to be the next year. I've seen all of our guys' progress and have had solid summers. We're just chomping at the bit and ready to get them back here.”
