By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Having broken Syracuse University long distance records at 3,000 meters (9:04), 5,000 meters (15:42), and 10,000 meters (32:08) — the latter one of the fastest collegiate times ever for an American — Amanda Vestri is bringing her talents to Blowing Rock as the newest member of ZAP Endurance’s elite professional running team.
Amanda Vestri. Photo courtesy of ZAP Endurance
In her final year of eligibility at Syracuse, the fifth-year senior earned First Team All-American honors both indoor (at 5,000 meters) and outdoor (at 10,000 meters) in track. She placed No. 7 in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In cross country, she won the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and was Syracuse’s top finisher in the ACC Championships, taking third overall.
Vestri used her first two years of collegiate eligibility competing for Iowa State University, before transferring to Syracuse. At ISU, she also earned All-American and several times and All-Big 12 performer at the 3,000 to 10,000-meters distances.
A native of Webster, N.Y., she competed in high school for Webster Thomas HS. At Syracuse, she worked on a graduate degree in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support.
“Amanda is not only immensely talented but a very positive individual who wants to make both herself and her teammates better,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea.
In speaking with High Country Sports, Rea pointed out that Vestri is aiming for longer events, which makes her the perfect fit for the ZAP Endurance team.
“While Amamda still has a lot of room for growth on the track, her desire and openness regarding longer events on the roads made her an athlete we wanted here in Blowing Rock. at ZAP.”
Rea noted that in her first exploration of the longer events as a post-collegian, Vestri scored her first top 10 USATF Road Championship performance earlier this month (Sept. 4), in New Haven, Conn., where she finished No. 10 in the USATF 20k Road Racing Championships.
Amanda Vestri. Photo courtesy of Syracuse University Athletics
By David Rogers. ATLANTA, Ga. — As rookie debuts go, Bijon Robinson’s was a showcase. For No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young, forgettable.
Atlanta took care of business in defeating the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 10, 24-10.
By early in the third quarter, things looked promising for the Panthers, sporting a 10-7 lead after a 43 yard field goal by Eddie Pineiro broke a 7-7 halftime deadlock. The low-scoring first half first saw an 11-yard TD pass from Atlanta QB Desmond Ridder — in his first season opening start for the Falcons — connect with Robinson near the line of scrimmage on the right side. The former Texas running back lived up to his star billing in being the eighth pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, sidestepping and breaking through tackles on his way to the end zone.
The opening score came after the Carolina defense stopped Atlanta’s opening drive and Young and Co. had a promising first drive that saw good pass completions to Terrence Marshall, Jr. and Laviska Shenault, as well as some shifty running by new running back Miles Sanders. But the Falcons eventually dug in and denied third and fourth down conversion attempts, turning the ball over on downs to Atlanta.
Robinson’s score came after a the teams traded failed drives before Young was intercepted by the Falcons’ Jessie Bates. Just three plays later, Ridder-to-Robinson broke the scoring ice at the beginning of the second quarter.
Carolina responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive featuring Young completions to Jonathan Mingo, Marshall, Shenault and Hurst, culminating with a short, 4-yard pass to Hurst for the tying TD (with Pineiro’s PAT kick).
The score stayed knotted at 7-7 until Pineiro’s field goal, but that was all the scoring the Panthers could muster, briefly leading 10-7 with the FG.
Meanwhile, Atlanta tied the game on Georgia Southern alum Younghoe Koo’s 49-yard field goal with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Photo courtesy of Carolina Panthers
Allgeier and the Falcons finished off the Panthers with two, 3-yard TDs om the fourth quarter following modest drives.
In many respects, this was a defensive battle in which Carolina was only able to 281 yards of total offense and Atlanta even less, 221. Carolina’s production advantage was compromised by turnovers, including two pass interceptions and one lost fumble. Defensively, the Panthers also held a 6-4 advantage in tackles for loss. But turnovers are frequently the determining factor in football game outcomes, and Carolina’s three turnovers vs. none for Atlanta held sway on this afternoon. Adding to the Panther woes was generally poor starting field position for offensive possessions. Falcon punter Bradley Pinion and his special teams unit down punts three times inside Carolina’s 20-yard line.
If there was good news for both teams, it was that the running backs exhibited enough talent to promise good things to come in the future, even if their respective passing attacks were modest, bordering on feeble.
For Atlanta, Allgeier rushed 15 times for 75 yards and two TDs, while Robinson carried the ball 10 times for 56 yards. The Panthers’ RBs recorded similar numbers, with Miles Sanders making his Carolina debut carrying 18 times for 72 yards and Chuba Hubbard toting it nine times for 60 yards.
Where Robinson did score a rushing TD, he did catch six passes for 27 yards and one TD.
The Panthers return home, preparing to host another division rival in the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 18, the Week 2 Monday Night Football offering with kickoff scheduled for 7:15 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN.
The Falcons have another home encounter on Sept. 17, at 1 p.m. vs. the Green Bay Packers.
By David Rogers. NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With her best finish yet at a U.S. Championship race, Blowing Rock’s Tristin Van Ord finished the 2023 USATF 20-kilometer Road Racing Championships in the No. 4 position on Sept. 4, finishing the course in 1:07.22.
Tristin Van Ord ran among the leaders throughout the 2023 USATF 20KM Road Racing Championships in New Haven, Conn., Sept. 4. Photo courtesy of Pete Rea, ZAP Endurance
Her fiance, Andrew Colley, was No. 7 in the men’s division, timed at 59:47. Both are members of the Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance professional running team.
“They are both healthy and reaching their peak condition,” ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea told High Country Sports after the race. “This is particularly significant for Tristin, because it is her highest placing in a U.S. Championship race. She was No. 5 in July for the U.S. 6k Championship, which was run in Akron, Ohio.”
Both Van Ord and Colley are scheduled to compete in October’s Chicago Marathon as a tune-up for next February’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando, Fla.
By David Rogers. WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — $2,000/hour is a pretty good wage but it didn’t take even that long for Blowing Rock’s Josh Izewski to pocket the cash. A member of the ZAP Endurance elite professional running team, Izewski topped the field of some 1,500 competitors, finishing first in 48:08 on Sept. 3, in the inaugural running of the Wyoming Valley 10-Mile Run from Pittston, Pa. to Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
The race time, of course, does not count the hundreds, even thousands of hours that go into training at a professional level of competition.
As one of the elite competitors, Izewski started at the front when the starting gun wen off, along with ZAP teammates Tyler Pennel and Annemarie Tuxbury — and all three stayed near the front. Pennel finished fourth (48:42) in the men’s division, behind Izewski, Dylan Gearinger of Scranton, Pa. and Joseph Trojan of Syracuse, N.Y.
Finishing No. 11 overall, Tuxbury captured the $1,000 second place money in the women’s division, completing the advertised “flat and fast” course in 58:14. First place honors went to Providence, R.I.’s Regan Rome (56:23), for whom the race was a homecoming of sorts since she grew up in the Wilkes-Barre area.
For Izewski, Sunday was merely an early September training “jaunt” as he prepares to compete in the Sept. 24 Berlin Marathon. As a native of Pennsylvania, he said that his parents were able to come up and watch, along with other friends and family members.
For the better part of the first eight miles, Izewski was running in a pack of six athletes, including Pennel. “At that point, I was feeling pretty strong,” recalled the 33-yearold Izewski. “I decided to push it all the way to the end.”
Izewski finished the 10-mile run at a 4:49 mile pace, according to the official timers, Scranton Running Company.
ZAP Endurance has two other runners competing on Labor Day, Sept. 4. Tristin Van Ord and Andrew Colley will compete in the 2023 USATF 20km Road Racing Championship, held in conjunction with the Faxon Law New Have Road Race in New Haven, Conn.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Former App State distance running star Tristin Van Ord lets the proverbial cat out of the bag in this video of preparations for the October running of the Chicago Marathon, flashing her hand and revealing to the world that she and teammate Andrew Colley are engaged to be married.
That is one of the “fun” and endearing things about this video that speaks to the hard work and preparation that Van Ord, Colley and ZAP teammate Annemarie Tuxbury are going through as they train for upcoming Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8.
Six ZAP team members have already qualified to compete in the Feb. 3, 2024, U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando, Fla., hoping to make the U.S. Olympic Team in the marathon. The six include Tuxbury, Van Ord, and Colley, as well as Tyler Pennel, Josh Izewski, and Whitney Macon. A seventh teammate, Ryan Ford, is more of a 10,000-meter specialist but, according to head coach Pete Rea, will attempt to meet the qualifying standard for the Orlando Trials in a half marathon later this fall. If he meets the standard in the shorter, 13-mile event, the Olympic Trials will be his marathon debut since he has not competed at the 26.2 mile distance, previously.
Watch and listen to the video, enjoying the stories and perspectives of Van Ord, Colley and Tuxbury.
By David Rogers. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It may have counted toward anything, but the preseason football game hosted by the New York Giants vs. the Carolina Panthers had its instructive moments. New York won, 21-19.
Carolina’s starting quarterback, rookie and top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young flashed abundant potential in the pocket as well as moving around behind the line of scrimmage. He only played two series, completing 3-of-6 passes for 35 yards, but avoiding a NY defense blitz and finding fellow rookie Jonathan Mingo for a 15-yard gain showed poise and showed off his mobility and athleticism.
New York QB Daniel Jones looks to be making good on the Giants’ $40 million offseason investment to him at the helm of the team’s offense. He only played one series before giving way to backup Tyrod Taylor, but completed 8-of-9 passes for 69 yards, capped off by a short TD aerial to tight end Daniel Bellinger.
Leading up to the Bellinger TD catch, there was a lot of Jones-to-Darren Waller, the former Raiders star tight end signed in free agency who caught 3-of-4 targets for 30 yards. The Jones-to-Waller combination could prove a good one in the upcoming regular season.
The Panthers’ Jonathan Mingo was only targeted twice, catching just the one pass for 15 yards, but showed plenty of athleticism.
Although veteran free agent signee Adam Thielen, D J Chark, Jr., and Mingo are listed as the top three receivers, former South Carolina wide receiver Shi Smith, picked up by the Panthers in Round 6 of the 2021 NFL Draft, got plenty of snaps in this game and responded with four receptions on five targets for 59 yards, a 14.8 yard average.
New York’s much-heralded rookie Jalin Hyatt, drafted out of Tennessee in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL draft, got his first TD reception as a pro, a 33-yard post pattern bomb from Taylor.
Josh Vann (87) fends off a would be tackler on Aug. 18, vs. the New York Giants. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
For its third preseason game, the Panthers will face the Detroit Lions at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 25, with kickoff slated for 8 p.m.
BONUS PHOTOS, COURTESY OF CAROLINA PANTHERS
Bryce Young looks to pass against the New York Giants in preseason game 2 on Aug. 18. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
Josh Vann (87) fends off a would be tackler on Aug. 18, vs. the New York Giants. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As a first look at No. 1 overall draft picks go, the preseason NFL debut the Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young was fairly ho-hum. Young only directed the first three series in the New York Jets’ 27-0 drubbing of the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, completing 4-of-6 passes for a pedestrian 21 yards, so no one is drawing any conclusions about his future.
Carolina head coach Frank Reich admitted later that the team’s offensive game plan was “vanilla,” that the coaching staff was just trying to see a lot of players and keep things fairly simple in a preseason matchup that means nothing in terms of its postseason ambitions, but he probably didn’t expect the lack of execution on several levels.
Photographic image by David Rogers
Although the Jets overwhelmed Carolina in all three phases of the game, what became most clear during this contest was the Panthers’ need to improve the offensive line play. Quarterbacks need time to find open receivers and neither Young nor relief pitcher Matt Corral — last year’s QB draft pick — got sufficient protection to orchestrate much through the air. One can always raise the question as to whether the QBs were getting the ball out of their hands fast enough, but the Jets recorded five QB sacks to rack up 35 lost Panther yards.
Running backs need gaps at the line of scrimmage through which to gallop — but few opportunities presented themselves.
Zach Wilson of the NY Jets on Aug. 12, directing a first quarter drive. Photographic image by David Rogers
Young and Corral combined to complete 19 passes on 28 attempts for 147 yards. Spencer Brown, signed as an undrafted free agent out of UAB in 2021, was the Panthers’ leading rusher, carrying the ball eight times for 34 yards. Chuba Hubbard picked up nine yards on four carries and Raheem Blackshear, a 2022 undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech by way of Rutgers, gained two yards on one carry. Add in Corral’s one carry for seven yards and the Panthers rushed 15 times, gaining 52 yards, the longest a 13-yard pickup by Brown. It was only a first preseason game when coaches may be more interested in evaluating talent than taking a winning step toward the Super Bowl, but 165 total net yards on offense is nothing to write home about.
Failing to credit the New York Jets’ mostly reserve defensive unit would be a crime, too, as well as its ball-controlling offensive effort led by former BYU star Zach Wilson, trying to rebound from a less than steady NFL debut in 2022. Not only did the Jets defense shut out the Panthers with an interception, eight quarterback hurries and six tackles for loss, but the NY offense controlled possession almost 36 minutes compared to just 24 minutes by Carolina.
‘I’m open! I’m open!’ Photographic image by David Rogers
It may not have been a Carolina win but it gave head coach Frank Reich a lot to ponder afterwards.
“What we just talked about in (the locker room) was it was a good week that really just ended on a bad note with this game,” said the new Panthers head coach about the team’s first outing under his direction. “Obviously, the game weighs more important than the week, but you have to keep everything in perspective. So that’s what we do. What we do is we look at every play, every player. We evaluate everything. We will grow from it and look forward to diving into the tape and getting better next week.”
Photographic image by David Rogers
Reich was similarly philosophical in talking about Young’s debut with the first team offense.
“Obviously, we had a little too much pressure at times,” Reich conceded, before adding, “Bryce was accurate. He got rid of the ball quickly. There is some good in having to try to overcome some bad field position which we did not do. We got our second drive. We are backed up there pretty much. Those are great situations. We talk about this all the time. Let’s get the tough situations and put ourselves to the test. We had a couple of those today. We didn’t pass those tests but those are good to learn from.”
Bryce Young gets a pass off on Aug. 12. at Bank of America Stadium. Photographic image by David Rogers
Other meaningful postgame Reich soundbites:
“I thought Matt Corral showed some flashes.”
“You don’t like getting shut out and getting beat, 27-0, but I have a lot of years in this league that tell me preseason scores are not the most meaningful thing. Not that we aren’t accountable for that. We are — but it is not the most important thing right now.”
“When you are a new coaching staff, I just don’t want to show too much. Some teams don’t know the things we are going to do and there is some of it I’m willing to take on the chin a little bit in preseason to hide things we are going to do in the regular season.”
Carolina will look to learn from this week’s lessons when they take on the New York Giants on Aug. 18 at The Meadowlands, then return home to host the Detroit Lions on Aug. 25 in a final preseason tuneup.
The Carolina Panthers, coaches, fans, and media members like photographer Kenny Richmond will have a lot to ponder during the next two weeks of preseason Reaction. Photographic image by David Rogers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It wasn’t the Boone Bigfoots pitching debut Jordan Fisher envisioned when he took command of the mound on August 5 at Smith Stadium. Two pitches, two hit batters — and it set the tone for what ultimately would be a 9-4 win by the Asheboro Zookeepers at Smith Stadium in Boone’s last game of the 2023 Coastal Plain League season.
Boone Bigfoots catcher Braxton Critcher gathers in a late throw as the Asheboro Zookeepers runner crosses the plate on Aug. 5. Photographic image by David Rogers
Fisher will be a redshirt sophomore on Appalachian State’s 2024 baseball roster and made seven appearances earlier this summer for the Mooresville Spinners, the Summer Collegiate Baseball League’s 2023 champions. The towering, 6-4 righthander with a fastball in the low to mid 90s (miles per hour) has some “stuff,” as evidenced by his 11 strikeouts in just nine innings of relief for the Spinners and a 3.00 ERA.
So giving up five runs on seven hits in four innings against the Zookeepers is hardly characteristic of Fisher’s ability, especially when he put up a “zero” in the Zookeepers’ top of the fourth inning, giving up just one single before retiring the side on a fly ball and two strikeouts.
The Boone Bigfoots’ Tristan Salinas lashes a single to right on Aug. 5 at Smith Stadium, later scoring.
You also have to credit Asheboro’s hot bats on the night. Over the course of the night, the Zookeepers rapped out a home run (CF – Lleyton Lackey), three triples (2B – Cole Laskowski, DH – Todd Hudson, and RF- Dylan Driver), and two doubles (3B – Jared Beebe and C – Dallas Callahan). A restated perspective: two-thirds of the Zookeepers’ batters were credited with extra base hits.
A bright spot on the mound for the Bigfoots was the two shutout innings by another young standout from the App State roster, Clayton Stewart, a 6-4 transfer from Florence-Darlington Technical College.
Will he be safe? or out? The umpire ruled safe a moment later. Photographic image by David Rogers
At the plate, Boone could do but little against the Zookeepers’ starting pitcher, Drew Siegner, the 6-0, 225 lb. righthanded freshman from Campbell University. The Bigfoots collected three runs on eight hits off of the Burlington, N.C. native, but for the entire game, the Boone batters collectively left 11 runners stranded, unable to push them across for runs.
Bright spots in the Boone batting order came at the top and the bottom. Leadoff batter Tristan Salinas, a June graduate of Watauga High School and soon-to-be freshman player for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, opened the game with a sharp single to right and went 2-for-4 while scoring Boone’s first run in the first inning. His patience at the plate was also rewarded with a walk. Defensively, Salinas was on the front end of two double plays executed by the Boone infield.
One thing about the Bigfoots is the fun they have between innings. Photographic image by David Rogers
At the bottom of the batting order, Transylvania University’s rising senior outfielder, Walt Munday, had arguably his best season performance at the plate, going 3-4, with a double and an RBI.
The Bigfoots also got doubles from App State catcher Braxton Critcher and Mars Hill infielder Zach Weaver. Unfortunately, Boone couldn’t string together many consecutive hits nor capitalize on four Zookeeper fielding errors to score enough runs and overcome Asheboro’s hot night at the plate.
Did we mention fun between innings? The Boone Bigfoots ‘funmaker’ appears to be crying, ‘Help! I can’t breathe!’ after a late inning, pie-in-the-face prize. Photographic image by David Rogers
Boone finished the second half of the CPL season at 9-14, tied for fifth with the Martinsville Mustangs and just ahead of the 8-15 High Point-Thomasville HiToms. For the full season, Boone was 19-26.
By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — After cruising near the back of a 10-man pack for the first three laps of the 4-lap Sir Walter Miler men’s elite mile race on Aug. 4 at Meredith College, Blowing Rock-based Dan Schaffer used a blistering last 200 meters to capture third place in the prestigious event.
Amon Kemboi, representing Puma Elite, took the top spot with a time of 3:57.84, followed by Ben Allen of Empire Elite in 3:58.19.
Schaffer, who joined ZAP Endurance just a year ago, was less than a second off of first place with a time of 3:58.57.
A dozen elite milers competed in the race and exactly half of them put in sub-minute times, even though the first lap was relatively slow at 60 seconds flat. Shaffer did not begin to threaten the leaders until the end of the backstretch on the final lap, then jumped to the outside, picking off runners ahead of him but was unable to nose out Kemboi and Allen.
The top three finishers had different strategies for the race in terms of their positioning. While Schaffer ran toward the back of the back until the last lap, Allen was among the leaders almost the entire race. Meanwhile, Kemboi spent much of the race between fourth and fifth place positions before surging ahead at the end.
Kemboi had already taken the lead at the 1500-meter mark, just a half second ahead of Jesse Hunt (unattached). At that point, Allen was in third and Schaffer was a second behind Kemboi, in fifth.
Schaffer has enjoyed a successful racing campaign in 2023, finishing among the top five in almost every race in which he has competed.
This feature story, reflecting a partnership between High Country Sports and High Country Press, also appears in the August edition of High Country magazine, with even more photographic images.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Since it was first codified in the middle of the 19th century, the uniquely American game of baseball largely survived the winds of change. Technology brought instant replay to TV monitors, digitized strikes zones, and aluminum bats, but the bases are still roughly 90 feet apart and the pitcher’s mound 60 feet from home plate.
Nine players make up a team and the pungent smell of linseed oil still makes the leather glove more pliable after hanging in the closet all winter. Artificial intelligence may soon replace umpires in calling balls and strikes, but the players’ respective missions remain the same: throw the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball and tag a runner out.
Photographic image by David Rogers
The crack of a bat in a corner of the city park still brings curious smiles to passers-by who stop to watch a kid run to first base while another chases the ball rolling to the right field fence. The throw from the outfield is more of a desperate heave, skying into the air before falling into the outstretched glove of an infielder, the tag just missing as the batter-turned-sliding-runner arches around impossibly to grab second base, the umpire spreading his arms wide while yelling “safe!”
Big league scouts still scour rural sandlots, hoping to discover hidden talent, listening intently for the decisive smack of a 9-inch horse-hided orb being delivered into a catcher’s mitt, a decisive sound that just might foreshadow discovery of the next Whitey Ford, Nolan Ryan, and Randy Johnson of yesteryear, or maybe the next Aroldis Chapman of the present day.
Speed and power command each decisive moment in baseball, reflexes pitted against reflexes.
Photographic image by David Rogers
Growing up, but not out of the game
The faces playing baseball may change from year to year or even decade to decade, but the game remains largely the same. When we grow too old to take the field for a man’s game demanding a lot of boy in us to play it, we sit in the stands and remember our glory days on the diamond. We are fascinated. We applaud. We rejoice at the walk-off grand slam home run or the ninth inning slide into home plate to win the game.
Young and old, we marvel at the accomplishments wrought by the boys of summer.
The High Country is blessed to have organized, summertime ball being played not just by our kids competing in recreation leagues but at an even higher level by the Boone Bigfoots, featuring student athletes who take the field during the school year on college and university teams around the country.
The Bigfoots, named after the mythical creature said to haunt the Appalachian Mountains, compete in the Coastal Plain League, a Southern equivalent to the Cape Cod League made famous in the 2001 movie, “Summer Catch,” starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Jessica Biel.
The CPL teams have unusual names, similar to the Bigfoots, reflecting the local area: the Macon Bacon, Asheboro Zookeepers, the Forest City Owls, the Wilmington Sharks, the Florence Flamingos or the Wilson Tobs (think, “tobacco”), and more.
Every game, the Bigfoots salute military veterans and first responders. Photographic image by David Rogers
Like the other teams, the Bigfoots’ coaches and management recruit players from different schools. Because of the milder summer temperatures in the High Country and the beautiful App State facilities, it is an easy sell.
The Boone roster includes a couple of Appalachian State athletes (Braxton Church, Dante Chirico, Zach Lewis) and at least one, Tristan Salinas, having just graduated Watauga High School and headed to play at another NCAA Division I school, South Carolina.
Several NCAA Division I schools are represented, but still others compete during the school year as some of the better players at Division II and even Division III levels. Transylvania, Mars Hill, High Point, USC Beaufort, North Carolina Wesleyan, Presbyterian, Lenoir-Rhyne, UNC Pembroke, Long Island, and Western Carolina are among the less well-known names, all with good baseball programs.
The Ivy League is also represented, those schools generally regarded as among the most academically challenging, with a couple of players from Princeton University.
After competing in a lower division summer college league the last two seasons, the Bigfoots graduated to the higher level CPL in 2023.
Team organizer Bob Wilson, whose professional career as a television and film producer spanned at least three decades in California, revealed in a recent interview that he loves baseball at the collegiate level, was impressed with the facilities at Appalachian State, and made officials at the university an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“In the CPL, we are the only team organized as a non-profit organization. In my professional career as a film producer, I have been blessed, financially, so I committed 100 percent of our net proceeds to the App State fund to support student athletes in exchange for the opportunity to use Smith Stadium and Beaver Field as the Bigfoots’ home venue,” explained Wilson.
Photographic image by David Rogers
There are common themes among the players interviewed: the ability to concentrate on playing baseball and getting comfortable in a more competitive environment.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity provided me by Coach (Randall) Ortiz and Bob (Wilson),” said recent Watauga High School graduate Tristan Salinas, who will be playing for the University of South Carolina in 2024. “One of my coaches at South Carolina put it best. He said it is like driving a car. When you first get your license, you are comfortable at 30-40 miles per hour, then you get faster as you get better. Playing ball in the SEC you are facing pitchers throwing 80-90 miles per hour, perhaps even faster. This is a good chance for me to get used to that middle ground, maybe 75-85 miles per hour, before I get onto the bigger stage in Columbia.
“I have always loved playing travel ball during the summer and last year was my last year playing on the team I had been with for 13 years,” added Salinas. “This is an opportunity to continue playing in the summer, make new friends, branch out and improve my skills. It is a great new chapter of my life.”
Right-handed pitcher Luke Patton is one of those NCAA Division III players, attending Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.
“After my freshman year this past season, my coach told me that playing for the Bigfoots would be a great opportunity to play with and against even better talent. And that is exactly what I am finding. Coming here, there are guys from big time programs, even Power 5 programs like Duke University and South Carolina, all baseball programs that are well known, like George Mason,” said Patton. “This is a great experience. In D3, there are things that you can get away with but down here, at this higher level, even small mistakes are exposed during a game. You have to be better prepared.
“It is a little different playing summer college ball without having to worry about academic studies,” continued Patton. “You are waking up in the morning and all you have to do is play baseball. It is a great feeling knowing that you don’t have to go home and study.”
After a June 4 win by the Bigfoots over the Asheboro Zookeepers, Caden Wagner analyzed his big hit, a home run in the seventh inning that helped propel the Bigfoots’ comeback victory.
“A couple of pitches earlier he was throwing off-speed on the outer half of the plate, so I was thinking to myself to try and stay in the middle of the field or try to catch a gap, don’t try to do too much. As it turned out, I connected with the ball just right,” Wagner recalled of his rocket that sailed over the 385-foot sign in left center.
Wagner hails from Parker, Colorado and attends school at the University of Northern Colorado, an NCAA Division I school competing in the Summit League against good baseball schools like Oral Roberts, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Nebraska-Omaha.
“I played in the CPL last summer with Martinsville and Coach Randall Ortiz, our coach here at the Bigfoots this year. My summer last year was cut a little bit short in order to have some back surgery, so I wanted to come back out here and play a full summer for Coach Ortiz,” said Wagner.
The Boone Bigfoots didn’t have many highlights on offense, but this was one of them. Photographic image by David Rogers
“We have fun. Summer ball in the CPL allows you to play pretty free and easy vs. playing college ball where you have to worry about academics, too,” said Wagner, a business and finance major in school. “Every summer, I come out here with a plan, knowing what I need to work on as an individual and then I get to take that back to the university and our school ball. That is the biggest thing, just able to focus on what you need to work on. You play baseball every day and put your focus there.”
Nick DiPietrantonio is one of two Ivy League players from Princeton University playing for the Bigfoots in 2023. Like Wagner, he also clubbed a big home run on June 4 against the Zookeepers that served as a catalyst for the Boone team’s comeback win.
“I played in the CPL last summer with Martinsville, too, so I am a little bit familiar with North Carolina but have not been here for an extended period of time. My hometown is Manalapan, New Jersey. I really like playing in this summer league because every day you wake up and get to make every decision based on baseball. We play ball almost every night and everything revolves around the competition. We get to hone-in on what we are trying to accomplish. I don’t have to worry about all the pre-med stuff during the summer!” said the future healthcare professional. “In school, there is a lot of balancing. Here, it is all about baseball.”
Catcher Braxton Church didn’t have much time to kick back and relax after his Appalachian State team went deep into the Sun Belt Conference tournament before losing to Southern Miss in the semifinals. Not only does he get to play home games in the familiar environment of Smith Stadium, but his family frequently gets to see him play since his hometown is Wilkesboro.
“This is awesome, being close to home and still getting to stay in Boone for the summer,” said Church. “This is like college ball, of course. There are guys from all over who can sling it and everybody competes. Having Hayden Cross as the Bigfoots assistant coach is terrific because I have learned a lot from playing behind him here, for App State, since he was the older catcher ahead of me. Now I am learning even more with him as my coach.”
Hayden Cross, once Church’s teammate but now officially his mentor, is taking the next step on a potential career by assuming a coaching role with the Bigfoots.
“I am pretty much done playing baseball,” said Cross. “I am out of college eligibility, but I get to spend another summer in baseball as a coach. I eventually want to get into coaching, so this is a great opportunity. This is good baseball. There are guys from really good college programs.”
Photographic image by David Rogers
Although Cross had a final “look” recently from the Chicago Cubs, he said he is not banking on getting drafted.
“My degree is in education,” he said. “So, I would like to coach and teach at either the high school or college level. As a high school teacher, it would probably be in math.”
The guy charged with tying it all together for the Bigfoots in 2023 is head coach Randall Ortiz, an alum of Catawba Valley Community College and Wichita State University as a player. He is also beginning his fifth year with CVCC as a coach.
“In high school, I was a lot smaller than I am now,” said the man with the stocky build of a catcher. “So in high school, I began as a shortstop. Then halfway through my freshman year they made me the catcher after the regular guy got injured and I never looked back.”
Given their view of the game from behind home plate with the entire baseball arena in front of them, athletes who played the game as a catcher have a special perspective as they transition into coaching.
Photographic image by David Rogers
“I am definitely excited by this opportunity,” said Ortiz, his face breaking into a big smile. “Last year, I was in the CPL with the Martinsville team as a coach. I knew that eventually I wanted to be a head coach. I didn’t know how soon my chance would come, but it has been what I wanted. The opportunity here in Boone opened up and one of my friends from college got me connected with Bob Wilson. The first time I visited here and saw the field and facilities, I knew this was where I wanted to be, the head coach for the Boone Bigfoots.”
Ortiz echoed the common theme heard from among the players.
“Summer baseball in the CPL is good,” said Ortiz. “You have the players’ attention pretty much 100 percent. They aren’t having to worry about homework for their academic studies. Add to that I think we have a special group of players here this year. We have only been here for three weeks, but it has been awesome so far. The guys all get along with each other and they can focus on baseball, not worrying about school.”
When it comes to summer jobs, it doesn’t get much better than it is for the boys of summer.
