A new ballgame: Summer league baseball creates unique experience for Blowfish players

Playing in a summer collegiate baseball league is a unique experience for college athletes across the country.

The leagues feature players who have usually completed at least one year of college and have one year of college eligibility left.

The summer league routine, however, is quite different. The bats are made of wood and there are games nearly every day of the week, more like a professional baseball schedule.

One of those leagues is the Coastal Plain League, which features teams from Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas, including the Midlands’ Lexington County Blowfish.

Blowfish middle infielder Trace Whetsell, a Gilbert native and rising senior at Limestone College, is familiar with the summer league scene. He is in his second summer with the Blowfish.

“I go to a Division II school, so it’s an even bigger opportunity for me to see competition that I don’t normally get to see,” Whetsell said. “These SEC guys that we have on our team and are facing pretty much every game, it’s a big difference and can definitely get you some good exposure.”

Several Midlands high schools are represented on the Blowfish roster, such as Gilbert, Lexington, River Bluff, Swansea, Columbia and Dutch Fork.

For locals like Whetsell, it is bittersweet to return to the Midlands and play close to home.

“It’s definitely a great experience,” Whetsell said. “We grew up playing right across the street on Ballpark Road. Every kid wanted to play for the Blowfish growing up, so it’s a dream come true.

“Definitely getting the hometown support and some of my friends and family out here is very nice to see.”

Blowfish outfielder Zacchaeus Rasberry, a La Grange, North Carolina, native and rising senior at Presbyterian College, is in his first summer with the Blowfish. Not being from the Midlands, Rasberry and other non-locals have host families to stay with throughout their time in Lexington.

“The host families are pretty good cooks and provide meals during the week,” Rasberry said. “It’s even better because my host family has came to a few games. Them being able to come to most of the home games is really nice to at least know someone in the stands and have your host family support you game after game.”

Justin Hall, the Blowfish’s director of media and broadcasting, said the team decides on host families for the players based on characteristics such as their attitude, personality and number of siblings.

“We had one player supposed to come in ... he had a peanut allergy, and we had a family whose son has a severe nut allergy,” Hall said. “This year, we have such a strong group of host families. They are great people to deal with, and they love these players like they are their own kids.”

For the Blowfish, long bus rides to small towns are part of the experience, which helps build team chemistry. The team usually makes these trips in one day without staying in hotels.

“We have this thing we normally play every single bus ride,” Whetsell said. “It’s a game called Mafia, and it has really strengthened our team chemistry. We all enjoy it and get into it together.”

Another difference for the players to adjust to is the game schedule. In college baseball, three-game series are played on weekends with usually one midweek game. Summer baseball is designed more like a minor league schedule with five or six games per week.

“It kind of gets your mind off one team, especially if you end up having a bad night,” Rasberry said. “It also changes your outlook on baseball, and you figure out what the real grind is playing everyday baseball.”

The summer league fan atmosphere is also different from a college baseball standpoint.

“The setup is a little bit different,” Rasberry said. “When you’re in school baseball, you know who’s going to show up. Every single night with summer baseball, you meet somebody new who’s going to tell you, ‘ Good game’ or ‘Try harder next time.’ ”

Whetsell noted the crowd difference between Division II Limestone and summer league.

“I don’t get the chance to play in front of 4,000 or 5,000 people like when we go to Savannah or Macon or when we have a big crowd at home,” Whetsell said. “It’s definitely special and different for me, so I enjoy it.”