For collegiate baseball players, the end of the NCAA season is not the conclusion of play. Many college players head to one of the wood-bat summer leagues across the country to maintain their skill set and acquire new skills, such as hitting a baseball with a wooden bat as used in the professional leagues.
Seattle University has continually sent players to leagues based in the Western part of the country, such as the West Coast League, the Horizon Air Summer Series, and the Alaskan Baseball League. That is the case again this summer, but one Redhawk received the opportunity to travel across the country to play in what many consider the top collegiate summer league in the United States.
The Cape Cod League in Massachusetts was established in 1885, was officially sanctioned by the NCAA in 1963, and, in 1985, became the first collegiate summer league to use wooden bats. More than 1,000 players who played in the Cape Cod League reached the major leagues, including Hall of Famers Pie Traynor, Carlton Fisk, and recent inductee Frank Thomas, as well as Seattle native Tim Lincecum, Jacoby Ellsbury, Thurman Munson, Ron Darling, Nomar Garciaparra, and Robin Ventura.
Thanks to a relationship between Seattle U pitching coach Elliott Cribby and John Schiffner, manager of the Chatham Anglers, established when Cribby played for Schiffner, outfielder Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) received the opportunity to spend the summer playing in the 130th season of the Cape Cod League.
“His (Cribby’s) recommendation means a lot to me. He knows what the Cape League is all about and what type of player can play in the league. He made a great recommendation in sending Landon here, as Landon has done a good job for us this summer,” Schiffner said before the July 21 game against the Falmouth Commodores.
Once he arrived in Chatham after completing spring quarter finals in June, Cray earned a spot in the Angler starting lineup. As of July 29, Cray has appeared in 30 games for the Anglers, earning 22 hits, including six doubles, scoring 15 runs and driving in 13 runs, plus he has stolen seven bases.
Cray needed to make a couple of adjustments upon arriving on Cape Cod and joining the Anglers. First, he has batted at the bottom of the Chatham batting order after hitting in the middle of the Redhawk lineup throughout the 2014 college baseball season. Second, after playing right field for the Redhawks, Cray has been in center field for the Anglers throughout the summer.
“It’s been an incredible experience. The weather has been great, and I have had the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the country. It’s an honor to play here on the Cape where so many great players have come before me,” said Cray.
Cray is living with a host family in Chatham, an example of the community rallying around the local team. Many of the people who work the games throughout the Cape Cod League are volunteers, and local businesses are willing to throw their financial support behind the teams in order to keep the league at a high level.
Cray’s presence is not only helping him, but also the Seattle U baseball program as a whole. Every time Cray is announced, the public address announcer mentions that he is from Seattle University, making fans on the East Coast aware that there is another college team representing the Emerald City.
“I think Landon’s performance is going to be a boon to their recruiting, to tell incoming freshmen that they have a chance to play in the Cape Cod League, thanks not only to Landon, but also to Coach Cribby’s knowledge of people within the league,” added Schiffner.
Back in the Pacific Northwest, several current and future Redhawks are playing in the West Coast League. Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) was voted an All Star while playing for Wenatchee and is batting .311 with 17 runs batted in, plus he has drawn 23 walks. Playing for Bend, Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) is batting .330 with nine doubles, two home runs, and 23 runs batted in, while Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) is hitting .268 with six doubles, a triple, a home run, 22 runs batted in, and 20 walks.
Four Redhawks expected on the pitching staff in the 2014-15 season have been teammates for Kitsap during the summer. Veteran Skyler Genger (Kent, Wash.) is 2-1 with a 3.45 earned run average, striking out 28 opponents in 31 2/3 innings while walking just six batters. He has been joined by three incoming freshmen: David Marshall (Kennewick, Wash.) is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, picking up a victory over Medford July 25, while Nick Meservey (Scottsdale, Ariz.) has a 1.28 ERA and has struck out 10 batters in just seven innings of work and Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) earned a save during the summer and struck out 10 hitters in eight innings on the mound.
Austin Hansen (Mukilteo, Wash.) got off to a great start for Yakima Valley, not allowing a run in his first seven appearances, including a save June 28 against Kitsap. Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) has not allowed an earned run in his last four appearances for Corvallis, earning a save at Victoria July 26. Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) is playing for Victoria this summer, batting .265 with five doubles, a home run, and nine runs batted in, plus he has drawn 20 walks.
First Team All-WAC performer Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) is playing for the Marysville (Calif.) Gold Sox in the Horizon Air Summer Series, batting .309 with four doubles and 13 RBI, plus he has thrown out six would-be base stealers in 13 attempts (46.2%). In the same league, Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.) is batting .330 for the Redding Colt ‘45s with two home runs and 15 runs batted in, and Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.) is 2-0 with a 2.17 earned run average and 27 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings of work.
Grant Gunning (Snohomish, Wash.) traveled north to play for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots of the Alaskan Baseball League, collecting 14 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings of work. No matter where they played over the past couple of months, the time the Redhawks spent on the field should serve them well as they return to campus in September.
The Seattle University baseball team finished the 2014 season with a 26-27 record and qualified for the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, the program’s first Division I postseason competition in 60 years.