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Coastal Plain League

Post 45 Tanner Marsh makes tage May 2023

ZooKeepers, Post 45 wait on McCrary Park

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Randolph County Post 45 shortstop Tanner Marsh makes a tag at second base against Davidson County during an American Legion game last week in Randleman, where the team is playing home games temporarily. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ZooKeepers and Randolph County Post 45 baseball teams are playing relocated home games for perhaps a few more weeks as the latest renovation project at McCrary Park is keeping the park off limits to spectators.

The ZooKeepers, a collegiate summer team, have reworked the early portion of their schedule and already have played road games. The team will play select home games at UNC Greensboro, beginning with Friday night’s game vs. Forest City.

Post 45, which won five of its first six games, is playing American Legion games at Randleman High School.

Ronnie Pugh, who’s part of the family ownership group for the ZooKeepers and the manager of the Post 45 team, said challenges exist for both teams.

“As hard as it is with the Legion team, it’s more (difficult) with the ZooKeepers,” Pugh said. “There’s so much more to it and we’re playing at a university facility and there’s things that go on with using that. But everyone has jumped in and tried to make it work.”

First-year ZooKeepers general manager Melissa Godwin is wife to Billy Godwin, the UNCG baseball coach.

Pugh said McCrary Park should be open for games by June 22.

“We may very well be in before that,” he said. “It’s all a work in progress. We’ll see some improvement every week.”

The new grandstand is completed, Pugh said, but parking and grounds outside the gates need more work before it’s safe for spectators.

In some ways, the inconveniences are a recurrence of several weeks of the 2022 season when the first phase of ballpark’s renovations for the playing surface and dugouts were delayed. The ZooKeepers rescheduled numerous games, while Post 45 played home games at Southwestern Randolph.

For the ZooKeepers, the team will bus to “home” games at UNCG. The Coastal Plain League team’s other operations and interns remain based in Asheboro.

Among schedule revisions, the ZooKeepers also will have games June 13, 16 (a doubleheader), 19 and 21 at UNCG. The latest revision shows the McCrary Park home opener coming June 22 against the Boone Bigfoots.

Three ZooKeepers games, either non-league or exhibitions, have been cancelled. The regular season ends Aug. 5. The home finale is Aug. 1.

Unlike a year ago, the teams are able to hold practices at city-owned McCrary Park. An official re-opening for the ballpark is set for July 4, Pugh said.

** Post 45 has players from throughout the area, representing numerous schools. Randleman is an ideal alternative site, Pugh said.

“It’s a good place to play until we get back into McCrary Park,” he said. “We’ve worked with the high schools before.”

Up to four members of the Uwharrie Charter Academy baseball team, which won the Class 1-A state championship during the weekend, will be joining the Post 45 team, Pugh said.

Melissa Godwin and ZooKeepers

New GM for ZooKeepers holds unique background

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Melissa Godwin has joined the front office of the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (Courtesy photo)

ASHEBORO – Melissa Godwin has clear baseball connections and those could be a boost for the Asheboro ZooKeepers.

Godwin is the team’s new general manager and director of baseball operations. She’s wife to UNC Greensboro baseball coach Billy Godwin.

“My résumé is pretty good without Billy,” she said. “(Taking this job) was the culmination of everything I’ve done.”

She’ll largely handle the ZooKeepers operations. Dennis Garcia, who had been in that role, will concentrate primarily on the American Legion programs that are McCrary Park tenants and the annual fall baseball league for high school players.

ZooKeepers owner Ronnie Pugh said the division of workload should emphasize strengths.

“They’ll overlap,” Pugh said.

Melissa Godwin said it should be a good combination.

Godwin has coached softball at the high school, club and travel circuits. She also has coached volleyball. Before joining the ZooKeepers, she had been at teacher at Southeast Guilford.

“I was looking to get into an AD role,” she said of goal of becoming an athletics director.

Godwin is from Polk County. She played college softball for USC Upstate and later was an assistant coach there.

Her son, Dallas Callahan, played for Asheboro’s Coastal Plain League team in 2021 and is a UNCG senior.

Jeremy Knight, who returned to a teaching position at Southern Alamance High School in August, had the co-GM and manager roles for the past two seasons.

“It filled a void for us at that time,” Pugh said.

Pugh said Godwin’s connections regarding player personnel should be a boost in attracting players to the team.

“They’re spending a lot of time on (assessing) players,” he said.

Godwin said the process of securing player commitments for the 2023 season is moving along. It’s possible that the ZooKeepers’ roster could include players from 15 Division teams. She said a 40-player roster is the goal, and there aren’t expected to be any returning players from the 2022 team.

“I kind of wish you let the fall (season) get over with so you know more what you’re getting,” she said.

Again, there are bound to be players from UNCG.

“How can we not?” the new GM said. “We should have some good ones as well.”

She has also been in contact regarding players from Campbell, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Elon, Liberty, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State and Texas Christian.

The latest renovation of McCrary Park – this time involving a new grandstand, restrooms and concessions area – is another perk for the front office.

“I know it’s bittersweet to see the old (grandstand) go,” she said. “The new stadium is going to have endless possibilities.”

McCary Park grandstand demolished Oct 2022

McCrary Park takes on another new look

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The grandstand has been flattened at McCrary Park as another phase of the renovation is in the works at the baseball park in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO — The grandstand is gone, and renovations are picking up again at McCrary Park.

This latest development marks the latest phase in the upgrades for the baseball park.

“It’s a lot of work to do,” said Ronnie Pugh, an owner of the Coastal Plain League’s Asheboro ZooKeepers. “It’s moving along, and it’s pretty exciting. It can’t happen soon enough.”

For any past visitors, the sight of the grandstand no longer in place might be jarring. The concession stand and restrooms will have the same fate.

Grading for the construction of a new grandstand is supposed to be completed in early November.

Asheboro mayor David Smith said recently that he considers renovations to the city-owned ballpark as part of a larger plan to lure more visitors to the city and provide the facility’s main tenants with a top-notch venue.

Before the past season, a playing surface and dugouts were installed. That phase of the project was geared toward on-field participants, while the current stage is aimed at making the facility more fan-friendly.

“They’re doing a first-class job on it,” Pugh said.

The Kiwanis Club has donated $50,000 toward a playground at the site. With matching contributions, it basically doubles the funds available for that project, Pugh said.

Asheboro High School played at Kiwanis Park for the 2022 season because of the McCrary Park renovations. Delays in completing that phase of the project meant that Randolph County Post 45 began its American Legion season playing at alternate sites (mostly Southwestern Randolph High School), and the ZooKeepers had a reconfigured schedule until the field was ready in June.

Pugh, who is the manager of the Post 45 team, said it’s too early to know when the facility will be ready to use, so he’s not looking at alternative plans yet.

“We’ll just have to do whatever we have to,” he said.

Without the grandstand, games won’t be played because that provides the backstop. Netting also needs to stretch from dugout to dugout.

The American Legion season begins in mid-to late May and the ZooKeepers start soon after.

Korey Dunbar headshot

Former Division I college players take roles with ZooKeepers staff

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Korey Dunbar will be the head head coach of the Asheboro ZooKeepers

ASHEBORO – A new coaching staff has been selected for the Asheboro ZooKeepers and there’s regional college flavor involved in those selections.

Former North Carolina catcher Korey Dunbar will be the head coach. Ex-North Carolina State pitcher Josh Pike will be the 2023 pitching coach.

The ZooKeepers are a Coastal Plain League team.

Dunbar, who has been on Barton College’s coaching staff for three seasons, played for North Carolina from 2012-15. That included a trip to the College World Series in 2013.

“I am extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to lead the Asheboro ZooKeepers for the 2023 season,” Dunbar said in information from the team. “I can’t wait to make an impact on the incoming talented players, the Asheboro community, and the entire ZooKeepers fan base.”

Dunbar takes over for Jeremy Knight, who stepped aside from summer college baseball after spending several years on those circuits. He was Asheboro’s head coach the past two years.

Dunbar was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round out of high school and again by the Miami Marlins in the 20th round after his playing days at North Carolina. During college, he was a member of the CPL’s Wilson Tobs in 2013 and played in the Cape Cod League in 2014.

Josh Pike spent one season with N.C. State a player before transitioning into coaching. He was the USA Collegiate National Team bullpen coach in 2022 after a year of being the team’s pitching technician. Pike, who went to the College World Series with the Wolfpack in 2021, is well-versed in analytics, according to information from the ZooKeepers.

“Having the opportunity to coach in the CPL is something I will not take for granted,” Pike said. “I can’t thank the ownership and management enough for their support and passion for the game of baseball. (Next) summer, we are going to create an exciting baseball environment that breeds from a competitive culture while being conducive to player development. I’m more than excited to get the ball rolling and win as a ZooKeeper.”

The ZooKeepers were previously the Asheboro Copperheads until last winter’s change of nickname amid a revamped marketing campaign. The team plays at McCrary Park, which is undergoing a second consecutive offseason of renovations.

ZooKeepers coach Jeremy Knight 2022

ZooKeepers coach departs after two seasons

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Jeremy Knight decided to give up his job with the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – Jeremy Knight has stepped away from his roles with the Asheboro ZooKeepers.

After guiding the Coastal Plain League baseball team for two seasons, he decided to resign as head coach and co-general manager.

“It was becoming too much with two kids,” he said, calling it a family decision. “This year wore me out.”

Knight’s record with the college summer team was 37-56, including a league-worst 14-33 mark this season.

He’s returning to a teaching position at Southern Alamance High School.

“It wasn’t because we didn’t have a great season,” Knight said of the change.

Knight, 37, has been a regular with college summer baseball, including time in the Virginia-based Valley Baseball League before joining the then-Asheboro Copperheads (before the nickname change).

“It’s time to be a dad a little bit more,” said Knight, who lives with his wife and two children in Whitsett.

Knight was supposed to be an assistant coach for the 2020 Asheboro team, but that season was cancelled because of the pandemic. Then he became the head coach for the past two seasons, also holding administrative duties.

He wrapped up his time with the ZooKeepers during the past weekend aiding operations for the American Legion’s Southeast Regional at McCrary Park.

He’ll remain involved in baseball at Southern Alamance, returning to a role as an assistant coach that he held in the past. He’ll also be back in a role as a teacher for exceptional children.

Southern Alamance coach Jason Smith is the father to Maddux Smith, a Davidson pitcher who was on this year’s ZooKeepers team.

Bryce Marsh of ZooKeepers July2022

Asheboro ZooKeepers cap strange, twisting season

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Southwestern Randolph alum Bryce Marsh had a strong season in power numbers for the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

Marsh’s CPL-best homer count among team’s highlights

ASHEBORO – Things became better for the Asheboro ZooKeepers during the latter part of the Coastal Plain League season.

But not good enough to qualify for the postseason.

A somewhat awkward season came to a close with Saturday night’s 12-8 loss to the visiting Martinsville Mustangs at McCrary Park.

Asheboro’s 14-34 record in CPL games was a league-worst mark in the 14-team circuit. The ZooKeepers were also 2-2 on non-league games.

“It has been hard to get everything working,” said second-year head coach Jeremy Knight, who’s also the team’s co-general manager. “We’ve had so many roster changes. The schedule got so packed for a while. We stay in games and then we don’t have enough to finish.”

At least there were improvements as this season went on. After the ZooKeepers posted a 3-20 record in the CPL’s first half, they improved to 11-14 in the second half. Still, Asheboro shared last place with Martinsville in the second half in the West Division by ending the season on a three-game losing streak.

It was the first collegiate summer league experience in this type of setting for many of the players.

“It’s a nice experience,” said ZooKeepers infielder Michael Zarrillo, a Lafayette College player who’s from Atlanta. “You get to see a lot of different players from different places. Most of them you’re never going to see again.”

There were a few notable accomplishments among ZooKeepers players.

Southwestern Randolph alum Bryce Marsh turned out to be one of the CPL’s top power hitters. The first baseman blasted 13 home runs across 45 CPL games, ranking first in the league in that category. Marsh, who also homered once in three non-league games, smashed a long ball in each of the ZooKeepers’ final three games.

“We look for him to hit the ball hard,” Knight said.

Marsh was the team RBI leader with 35 in CPL play, moving past shortstop Trent Youngblood, who had 33 but only one in the final week. Marsh rated third in the CPL in runs batted in and Youngblood tied for fifth.

Marsh is a May graduate from Division III Pfeiffer with a degree in health and exercise science, though he has another season of eligibility remaining based on the NCAA’s approach because of the pandemic. Marsh homered seven times in 30 games for Pfeiffer this year, stretching his career college total to 21 in 101 games.

Youngblood, who also was used as a relief pitcher, batted a team-best .344, capped by a 3-for-5 effort in the finale. He ranked third in the league in batting. On the Asheboro team, he was the leader in doubles (10), triples (3) and runs (36) to go with his second-best four home runs.

Youngblood was also second on the team in stolen bases with 15 behind Ron Evans’ 18 (tied for fourth in the league).

No Asheboro pitcher had more than two victories. Connor Smith, a college pitcher for High Point, went 2-1 and logged four of the team’s five saves.

The 2021 season produced a 23-21 overall record in CPL play for Asheboro, which was then nicknamed the Copperheads. This year turned out more difficult.

The season had a strange component right from the beginning for the ZooKeepers because of renovations at McCrary Park that weren’t complete in time for the first few scheduled home games. That caused schedule juggling and a busy slate once the city-owned ballpark was available.

The upgrades largely revolved around the field, dugouts and bullpens, leaving limited seating for spectators. Next year, another phase in the renovation project is supposed to be complete in time for the CPL season, and those will be focused on new seating areas and fan amenities.

Trent Youngblood in field

Transylvania player puts together special season with ZooKeepers

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Trent Youngblood makes a play in the field for the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Youngblood comes from Division III, but excels in CPL

ASHEBORO – Coming from a Division III program, it was natural to wonder how Trent Youngblood would fit in with the Asheboro ZooKeepers.

That hasn’t really happened – and that has been a good thing.

It turns out that the versatile infielder has stood out with the ZooKeepers and across the Coastal Plain League as a whole.

“I really just like competing,” Youngblood said. “It was a big adjustment coming from my school to here.”

He’s a rising junior at Transylvania, which is located in Lexington, Ky. He’s from Louisville.

Playing alongside and against players from a variety of Division I teams, Youngblood entered the final week of the season ranked fourth in the CPL with a .340 batting average and shares the league lead with 32 runs batted in.

“He’s obviously killing it,” said ZooKeepers infielder Michael Zarrillo, who plays collegiately for Lafayette. “He just consistently gets barrels.”

Youngblood, 20, said he knew he couldn’t be in awe of the competition if he wanted to have a strong summer on the field. He said he doesn’t dwell on what colleges others attend, the credentials opponents might hold or the idea that some CPL players might be playing in the pros in a couple of years.

“When you’re on the same field, it doesn’t matter what division you go to,” he said. “I’m not going to be intimidated. I tell myself when I get in the box, ‘I’m better than the pitcher.’ I’ve had success and I can hang in there.”

At Transylvania, he holds a .413 career batting average and through two seasons (and 78 total games) is atop the school’s all-time list for slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He bashed a team-high 10 homers in leading the Pioneers in about every offensive category, while – like with the ZooKeepers – he also filled in at times on the mound.

He played a key role on Transylvania’s NCAA regional team in 2021.

ZooKeepers head coach Jeremy Knight said Youngblood needed to see Division I-level pitching for a few games.

“Once he settled in and got adjusted to the speed of the game at this level, he took off,” Knight said. “He let his natural ability take over.”

Despite a dismal record for the Asheboro team, Youngblood said it has been a rewarding season taking on players from higher divisions.

“It’s seeing it on an every-day basis,” he said. “You start to adjust. Being out on the field every day has been awesome.”

In 43 CPL games with the ZooKeepers, he has team highs in doubles (10), triples (3) and runs (33) in addition to his batting average and RBI. His 13 stolen bases trail only Ronald Evans’ 15.

Youngblood hasn’t looked physically out of place in the CPL. He said he arrived as a 140-pound freshman at Transylvania before bulking up.

Naturally, with his last name and his school’s name he’s bound to draw attention, or at least curiosity.

“It makes people’s heads perk up,” he said.

So has his season with the ZooKeepers.

Trevor Marsh in CPL diving at first base2021

Trevor Marsh could join ZooKeepers for final stretch

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Trevor Marsh turned in a solid season last summer for Asheboro’s team in the CPL. He could be returning. (Randolph Record file photo)

ASHEBORO – Trevor Marsh might be back with Asheboro’s Coastal Plain League baseball team after all.

The former Asheboro High School standout hasn’t played this summer following surgery on his left hand’s index finger that caused his season to be cut short at UNC Wilmington.

Marsh, an outfielder, said last week that he might join the Asheboro ZooKeepers for the final few games of the season if he’s given medical clearance. Last year, he played for the CPL’s Asheboro Copperheads (who since changed names to ZooKeepers).

ZooKeepers head coach Jeremy Knight said adding Marsh could be a boost to the struggling team if the timing work outs despite the limited remaining games.

“He’s itching to get out there,” Knight said.

Marsh has played three seasons for UNCW, with 58 starts. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. This year, he started in 18 of the 23 games in which he played, batting .294 with one home run (a grand slam vs. Ohio State), one triple and seven doubles before the injury interfered.

If the ZooKeepers aren’t in postseason contention, Knight said it would be easier to give Marsh regular at-bats as he’ll need to work his way back to form.

“We’re falling farther and farther out of the playoff hunt,” Knight said Sunday night after a non-league loss to the Catawba Valley Stars. The ZooKeepers ended last week with five straight CPL defeats.

The ZooKeepers have had another rash of player moves, with injuries and other commitments impacting those. Outfielder Kennedy Jones of UNC Greensboro had his season cut short because of a hamstring injury.

“If it can happen, it has,” Knight said of roster shakeups.

The season ends for the ZooKeepers on July 30 with a home game against the Martinsville Mustangs. Before that, the home slate includes games Saturday night against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms, Monday night against the Savannah Bananas, Tuesday night against the Carolina Disco Turkeys and next Thursday night against the Wilmington Sharks.

Player Headshots

Youngblood receives CPL honor

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HOLLY SPRINGS – Trent Youngblood of the Asheboro ZooKeepers was named the Hitter of the Week in the Coastal Plain League after batting .556 and driving in eight runs in five games.

Youngblood had two doubles and scored five runs. He also drew three walks and stolen three bases.

Youngblood, a utility player, is a rising junior at Transylvania. He’s from Louisville, Ky.

Youngblood was the only Asheboro position player to appear in Sunday night’s CPL All-Star Game at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs. He was a pinch hitter and then played shortstop, going 0-for-2 for the West, which won 3-2 against the East.

Pitcher Hunter Shuey of the ZooKeepers was a replacement player for the All-Star Game. He logged one shutout inning of relief with one strikeout.

The ZooKeepers, who compiled a 2-3 record last week, are scheduled for CPL home games tonight (July 12 vs. the Martinsville Mustangs), Friday night against the Peninsula Pilots and Monday night against the Forest City Owls. The Owls also return three nights later for a July 21 game. Amid that stretch is Sunday’s non-league home game against the Catawba Valley Stars with a 6 p.m. start.

AHS_Youngblood

Asheboro duo picked for CPL All-Star Game

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Trent Youngblood has given the Asheboro ZooKeepers a boost in several ways so far this season. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO — Infielder Trent Youngblood and outfielder Kennedy Jones will represent the Asheboro ZooKeepers in Sunday’s Coastal Plain League All-Star Game in Holly Springs.

Youngblood, who plays in college for Transylvania, leads the ZooKeepers with 23 runs batted in and co-leads the team with ten extra-base hits across his first 29 games. He entered this week as the only player to appear in every CPL game for Asheboro.

Kennedy is a standout for UNC Greensboro. Because the Spartans were in the NCAA Tournament, he missed the early part of the season with the ZooKeepers, but he has made an impact since joining the lineup.

Jones hit at a .420 clip in his first 13 games with the ZooKeepers.

The ZooKeepers were the worst team in the CPL’s first half. But they began the second half with five consecutive victories before Monday night’s 9-5 home loss to the Holly Springs Salamanders.

Asheboro has one home game remaining this week at McCrary Park with Saturday’s matchup with the Wilson Tobs.

Next week, the ZooKeepers have CPL home games July 12 vs. Martinsville and July 15 vs. Peninsula before a non-league assignment July 17 with Catawba Valley.

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