College players keep at it with Stingers

Jun 15, 2009 — The Herald

Karl Lyles

Jun. 15, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Former Indian Land High School standout Shawn Thomas is spending the summer playing baseball for the Carolina Stingers of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League.

Thomas, a rising sophomore at USC Lancaster, lost his first two starts for the Stingers. But Friday, against the Asheville Red Birds, the 6-foot-2 right-hander threw six shutout innings for his first win.

Thomas has one more year at USC Lancaster before he'll have to make a decision about where baseball will take him next. Playing in the SCBL can help get Thomas noticed by four-year schools and big league scouts.

"I just try to keep the ball down and throw strikes," Thomas said, simplifying his goal for the summer. He worked with USC Lancaster coach Steve Williams in his freshman year to increase his velocity from 82 mph to the mid to upper 80s.

For the summer, Thomas will glean all he can from Stingers coach Cliff Allred.

Regarded as a player's coach, Allred is in his first year with the Stingers. He isn't too far removed from his playing days as a catcher for St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, N.C. He is now an assistant coach at Pfeiffer College.

"We'll strive to play at the highest level," Allred said. "I teach (the players) all I can in practices and before games. But game time, game day, it's all them. They make me look good."

College summer leagues are more prevalent than ever. The SCBL is relatively young compared to the Cape Cod League or the New England Collegiate Baseball League, but the concept is the same. It is a wooden bat league and its rosters are filled with college players who use the opportunity to hone their skills.

The SCBL plays a schedule different than other summer wooden bat leagues.The league plays doubleheaders on weekends and usually two games during the week. Pitchers are held to an 85-pitch count.The players participate in at least a 42-game schedule, have an All-Star Break, and then the top six teams in the league compete in the championship tournament.

The Stingers are well into their season. They take a 4-10 record into today's 7 p.m. game against the Spartanburg Blue Eagles at Fort Mill High School.

The team has gone by a few names since its inception in 1994. They were known as the Sox, then the Thunder. The team played at The Winthrop Ballpark for several seasons. The last two years, home games have been played at Fort Mill. The school allows the team use of the field at no charge. The Stingers, in return, have made numerous improvements.

The press box now has heating and air conditioning. The infield has been completely redone. This year, the plan is to improve the public address system.

Larry Tremetiere, co-owner of the team along with Bill Capps, also finds host families for players who have come from far off places. Like Adam Beach, Michael Morgan, Ryan Rua and Mathew Toth, the four guys on the team from Lake Erie College near Cleveland. There are 14 area families that are hosting players for the summer.

In years past, the team has secured sponsorships to offset operating costs. Tremetiere said the team has generated as much as $15,000 in a season from local businesses. To date the team has just one sponsor totaling $300.

Tremetiere and Capps are funding the team largely by themselves.

The Stingers aren't the only team struggling with the economic times. Two teams folded since last year. There are seven teams competing this season.

The team has two other players with local ties. Pitcher Stewart Curry is a Rock Hill High School grad now at Presbyterian College. Christian Dickson, also a pitcher, is at USC Lancaster out of Buford High School.

Winthrop's Austin Stuart began the summer with the Columbia Blowfish in the Coastal Plain Summer League. Capps said Stuart will join the Stingers as early as today.

Stingers second baseman Michael Caddell is back for a second season. He and catcher Tim Flood are the only two players to return from the 2008 team.

"Playing here is all about getting better. You swing the wood bat and it really helps out. When you get back to the metal (bats) you just have a lot more pop," Caddell said.

Karl Lyles 329-4032

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