A hefty portion of the Yellow Jacket baseball squad has spent their summers competing in summer leagues around the country. Brandon Gold, Kel Johnson, Ryan Peurifoy, Zac Ryan, Keenan Innis, Jonathan King, Matt Gonzalez, Connor Justus, Arden Pabst, and Ben Parr are all competing in the Cape Cod League.
Gold started the season strong, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his first game with the Brewster Whitecaps. He experienced a mid-season slump with a 0-for-12 stretch earlier this month, but bounced back recently with a hit in each of his last three games. He has recently been playing more at 1st base than at pitcher, where he spent the majority of his time at last season for the Jackets. Johnson just recently played his first few games of the summer, reaching base three times in his debut. He currently sits at a .200 batting average and a .492 OPS.
Peurifoy has been a consistent player for the Whitecaps, leading the team with two triples and is fourth in runs with 12. Zach Ryan has had a mixed season, but overall he has been solid on the mound. His ERA is at 3.97 on the season and he is holding batters to a .253 batting average. Innis has hit .200 in eight games to go along with three walks and a stolen base. King sits at 1-1 in his two starts on the mound, with an ERA of 3.97 and a respectable strikeout-to-walk ratio of 23:7. Gonzalez recently recorded his third multi-hit game of the summer and is batting .278 in July. Justus, with the Harwich Mariners, just recently hit his second home run of the summer. Justus is struggling at the plate, hitting .181, but is third on the team in runs and stolen bases with 12 and six respectively. As usual, Justus is still playing well defensively with a solid .962 fielding percentage so far. Pabst has had an average season at the plate, but he has been consistent in the field with a .974 fielding percentage, recording four errors in 146 chances. Parr has pitched well for the Wareham Gatemen, with his ERA standing at 2.89.
In the Valley League, Wade Bailey, Jared Datoc, Patrick Wiseman, and Tanner Shelton are all playing for the Harrisonburg Turks. Like Justsus, Bailey is also struggling at the plate. He has hit .185 in his 10 games so far, but has been perfect in 41 chances in the field. Datoc has performed well this summer. His summer ERA is currently 1.82 in 27.2 innings while striking out 21 batters. Most of Datoc’s appearances have come in a relief, but he did get one start in which he went five innings while allowing only one earned run. Wiseman has also been impressive on the mound, holding opponents scoreless in six of his eight relief appearances and holding opposing batters to a .139 batting average. Shelton recently recorded his best game of the summer, retiring all six batters he faced in a 7-2 loss at Front Royal.
Daniel Gooden and Matt Phillips found themselves in the Coastal Plain League, playing for the Peninsula Pilots and the Lexington County Blowfish, respectively. Gooden has had a rough season, pitching with an 18.00 ERA. Phillips has fared slightly better with an ERA of 7.00 and holding opponents to a batting average of .286.
Grant Wruble was the sole Jacket in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, sporting the orange and green of the Southern Ohio Copperheads. He found great success this season and proved to be a dominant force for his team. His .305 batting average was tied for second on the Copperheads, while his .801 OPS was good for third. He lead the team with 29 hits and tied for second in homers with 2. He was also third in both RBIs (15) and doubles (5).
Trevor Craport is playing for the Brookhaven Bucks of the Sunbelt League. He has proved to be a decent asset to the Bucks, hitting well and going 5-for-5 in stolen bases. His ERA sits at a pedestrian 6.00, but his strikeouts-to-walks ratio is just below 7:1.