June 15, 2014

Four Eagles compete in summer collegiate baseball leagues

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A quartet of Carson-Newman baseball players has picked up wooden bats to compete in three collegiate summer baseball leagues.

Pitcher Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio) has headed to the Prospect League to hurl for the West Virginia Miners in Beckley, W.Va. Third baseman Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) has headed back home to the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League to play for the South Florida Breakers.

Meanwhile, Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Bryan Everhart (Greeneville, Tenn.) will remain teammates through the summer playing for the Lehigh Valley Catz of the Atlantic Collegiate League.

Yocom has started his summer league experience 0-1 for the Miners. He started the season June 1 with a no decision after five innings of shutout, three-hit ball in an 8-7 win for West Virginia over Champion City. That followed a hard-luck 3-0 loss to the Chillicothe Paints. Yocom has a trio of strikeouts and 3.24 ERA through his two appearances.

Roberts is one of seven players in the SFCBL to bat .500 or better through the first two weeks of their season. The junior has gone two-for-four in both his games.

"I've faced some good pitchers and have gotten quality reps," Roberts said. "This summer I'm really working on becoming more aggressive at the plate and staying consistent for a full season. The most exciting part of the summer has been being able to play in my hometown and become friends with teammates coming from other states."

He drove in a pair of runs in the Breakers' 5-1 win over the South Florida Canes.

Ausmus started his ACL summer campaign with a bang. In the Catz' opener, Ausmus could not be kept off the bases. He went 3-for-3 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch as the Catz beat the Quakertown Blazers 11-3.

Ausmus is hitting .346 for the season with a pair of doubles, a home run and six RBI. Ausmus has the highest batting average in the league among players who have played at least eight contests.

Evarhart's best game also came against the Catz' 11-3 win over the Blazers. He went one-for-four with a run scored.