I don't know whether it's too much artificial sweetener or just the ravages of getting older, but my memory - particularly short-term - ain't what it once was.
I can tell you where I was when Hank Aaron hit No. 715 (some friends' apartment in West Columbia), but don't ask me what I had for lunch a couple of weeks ago. My brain is sometimes like a sieve when it comes to retaining information.
If I come across a name or see a face at a location where I'm not accustomed to seeing it, I'm often stumped.
When I was doing my recaps on Saturday's games, I realized Notre Dame starting pitcher John Michael Bertrand's name seemed familiar. I did a quick Google search to see if he was a hot draft prospect I'd heard about.
Nope.
Today, with an assist from former Furman coach Brett Harker, the switch came on: Bertrand was one of the more than two dozen Paladins players who had the rug pulled out from under them when the school administration dropped baseball for financial reasons last spring.
With the idea of doing some research today, I contacted Harker late last week to ask if he had a list of where his former players had gone. He responded in moments with 27 names at 24 different schools, ranging from junior college to the baseball elite.
Five landed at other in-state DI schools, including traditional Furman rivals Clemson, Wofford and The Citadel.
There are Furman refugees playing in 14 states, including Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Texas. And many of them are playing well.
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| Ex-Furman pitcher John Michael Bertrand got a win over Clemson Saturday in his return to the Upstate. (Furman University photo) |
Take Bertrand, for instance: He struck out eight and limited Clemson to three hits over seven innings for the Fighting Irish on Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He was coming into his own when COVID-19 began ringing what would prove to be the death knell for Furman's program a year ago this week. Bertrand was 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts last season.
Stone Simmons landed at Mississippi State. He has a 1-0 record and a save in three appearances, not allowing any runs in the first two.
Patrick Libby went to Tallahassee CC in his home state of Florida after his freshman season in Greenville. He has a 3-1 record, a 1.40 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings.
Mason Kenney has a save and hasn't allowed a run in four outings at Troy. Rob Hughes, Matthew Marchal and Hank Nichols are pitching in middle relief at Clemson, Wofford and North Greenville respectively. Jordan Beatson got to pitch in Fluor Field for Michigan State over the weekend.
Former Furman hitters are having an impact, too.
David Webel and Dax Roper have started all seven games for Creighton, batting .367 and .333, respectively. The Bluejays play their home games in TD Ameritrade Park, home of the College World Series.
Jordan Starkes is batting .364 with 17 runs scored, 11 RBIs and 7 stolen bases for Spartanburg Methodist. He had a walk-off grand slam for the Pioneers last week.
Banks Griffith is batting .500 as a part-time starter at Stetson. M.J. Sasapan, Logan Taplett and Joey Tepper start regularly for Charleston Southern, The Citadel and Winthrop.
Eli Weisner, who was hitless in three games as a Paladins freshman, has gone 7-for-14 with 15 runs scored for Louisburg. He's also 10-for-10 in stolen bases.
Former Furman batters
Former Furman pitchers
Note: All stats are from respective school Websites as of Monday afternoon.
I hope I have the time to provide periodic updates on the ex-Paladins throughout the season. It would have nice if Furman officials had not made the ill-conceived decision that made this post necessary.
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| This picture was made when I was at 2010 College World Series. I hope I live long enough to see Furman reinstate baseball and make it to Omaha. |
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