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| There's an international flavor to college baseball in South Carolina (Freepik.com clipart) |
There's a news aggregator app out there that lets you put together your own daily "newspaper" based on the interests you select the aggregator to look for and assemble.
I have an aggregator about college baseball. A few days ago, I was stunned to find a story from a Website in the Czech Republic included in that days findings. It reported on the exploits of Czech players involved in American college baseball. Included in the report were North Greenville's Marek Chlup and Daniel Padysak of Charleston Southern.
On a couple of Crusaders Webcasts I'd heard announcer Dan Scott reference Chlup's family following the games closely from afar.
On a couple of Crusaders Webcasts I'd heard announcer Dan Scott reference Chlup's family following the games closely from afar.
Since the college baseball schedule is usually light on Thursday, I decided to research International representation on teams in South Carolina.
I was surprised to learn there are 16 international players, representing seven countries on Palmetto State team rosters (see chart below). USC Upstate has the most international players - four - representing four countries and three continents.
South Carolina and Erskine have three internationals, Limestone has two, while Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, Newberry and North Greenville have one apiece.
Perhaps surprisingly, eight of the foreign players are from Canada. And several of the players are earning their way. Like the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic has two players on state rosters.
Also represented are Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Japan.
There are nine internationals on state NCAA Division I teams and seven on Division II squads.
And many of the internationals aren't merely a curiosity. South Carolina's George Callil (Australia) has been starter since he stepped on campus. Ari Sechopoulos (Canada) has hit 20 home runs in 177 career games at College of Charleston
I was surprised to learn there are 16 international players, representing seven countries on Palmetto State team rosters (see chart below). USC Upstate has the most international players - four - representing four countries and three continents.
South Carolina and Erskine have three internationals, Limestone has two, while Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, Newberry and North Greenville have one apiece.
Perhaps surprisingly, eight of the foreign players are from Canada. And several of the players are earning their way. Like the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic has two players on state rosters.
Also represented are Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Japan.
There are nine internationals on state NCAA Division I teams and seven on Division II squads.
And many of the internationals aren't merely a curiosity. South Carolina's George Callil (Australia) has been starter since he stepped on campus. Ari Sechopoulos (Canada) has hit 20 home runs in 177 career games at College of Charleston
Jordan Marks (Canada) has been an ace pitcher for USC Upstate, while teammates Jason Matthews (New Zealand) and Julian Rip (the Netherlands) have been catalysts for the Spartans offense.
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In the process of checking rosters for the state's 33 college and junior college programs, I noticed that there a lot of players from states outside the Southeast, so I decided to explore further. Imagine my surprise to find that there are players from 40 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands representing South Carolina schools.
Many distant states, including California and Texas, have multiple representatives.
Only three states east of Mississippi -- Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont -- don't have a native on a South Carolina team roster. The other seven states not represented are Alaska, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
As Hall of Fame baseball announcer Mel Allen used to say:
How about that?
Only three states east of Mississippi -- Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont -- don't have a native on a South Carolina team roster. The other seven states not represented are Alaska, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
As Hall of Fame baseball announcer Mel Allen used to say:
How about that?
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| Julian Rip, from the Netherlands, has a .315 career batting average for USC Upstate entering this weekend. (USC Upstate photo) |
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