Trio of Diamond Deacs Excelling in Summer Ball in Triad

Rising junior Ryan Cusick last took the mound for the Wake Forest baseball team Friday, March 6 against Louisville. He recorded 11 strikeouts that evening to bring his season total to a 43 punchouts in 22 innings pitched.

His teammates, Michael Turconi and Shane Smith, last donned the Old Black & Gold on Wednesday, March 11 at Coastal Carolina. Turconi had two hits and a pair of RBI, while Smith fired a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts.

That trio, along with the rest of the 2020 Wake Forest team, did not take the field again due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I didn't really know what to think at first," Cusick said of the season ending so suddenly. "Baseball is my life. It was pretty terrible, but we could have thought about it two ways - we could have sulked about it or taken it as an opportunity to try to get better."

More than four months later, the baseball Deacs are now scattered across the country doing just that – trying to get better.

Though Major League Baseball's season is just beginning, and Minor League Baseball has cancelled play for 2020, several summer baseball leagues are pushing on, giving the chance for college players to gain live-game experience and showcase their talent in front of MLB scouts.

Cusick, Turconi and Smith are getting all those opportunities with the nearby High Point-Thomasville HiToms of the Coastal Plain League. And all of them have picked up right where they left off with their final game action for Wake Forest in 2020.

"I knew when Coach [Tom] Walter reached out from Wake Forest that I was getting three of his best guys," said HiToms first-year head coach Mickey Williard. "Not only in their ability to perform, but also with their leadership and ability to be a teammate."

Cusick and Smith have been a dynamic one-two punch on the mound in HiTom uniforms this summer – Cusick leads the team in strikeouts with a remarkable 24 in 14 innings pitched, to go along with a 0.64 earned run average.

Cusick also earned CPL Pitcher of the Week honors during the first week of the season after fanning eight batters in four shutout innings against the Martinsville Mustangs on July 3.

"My fastball command has been where I want it to be, and I'm getting more and more comfortable with my breaking ball," Cusick said. "Every single start that I have I feel like I'm learning so much and growing in such a large way. The only way to get better at baseball is by playing."

The only other HiTom pitcher to throw double-digit innings? That's Smith, who has fanned 20 batters in 11 and 2/3 innings and has yet to allow an earned run.

"I've grown in my confidence in throwing strikes in every count and not just when I'm behind a hitter," Smith said. "I feel like I have become more of a 'pitcher' and not just a 'thrower.'"

Then there's Turconi, who has appeared in every exhibition and regular season game the HiToms have played this summer. The middle infielder is batting .354 with two home runs and 10 RBI, while also posting team-high marks in runs (18) and walks (11).

"You get the same guy every night," Williard said of Turconi. "So he's really hard to take out of the lineup. He's one of those guys that annoys every pitching coach in the world because he is always barreling up the baseball."

The trio of Deacons have been a pivotal part in the HiToms posting a 13-2 record in regular season play through July 22.

The Coastal Plain League boasts 16 teams in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. However, due to restrictions surrounding COIVD-19, nine of the teams chose to opt out of the season, leaving the HiToms and the Wilson Tobs as the only CPL teams in action in North Carolina this summer.

Other leagues, like the prestigious Cape Cod League, chose to cancel their schedules altogether leaving Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter to find other places for his guys to play during the summer.

"I was going to play Cape Cod again for the Bourne Braves," Cusick said. "Coach Walter knew that I was hungry to play and found a spot for me with the HiToms. It was a perfect opportunity to stay near Winston and play."

That cancellation of Cape Cod season has led an influx of high-level baseball talent to other leagues like the CPL and to teams like the HiToms, who feature 15 ACC players on their 2020 roster.

"Cusick, Smith, and Turconi are separating themselves on a team filled with ACC players," Deacs Coach Tom Walter said. "Along with teammate Brendan Tinsman, I think they are as good as any four rising juniors in the country."

Coach Walter has seen the trio play for the HiToms on a regular basis this summer, though he is also there for another important player – his son, Chase, a rising junior at Georgetown.

However, Coach Walter is one of few people to witness a game in person this summer at Finch Field, where the HiToms call home. That's because High Point-Thomasville is restricted to allow just 25 fans in the 1,300 seat grandstand during home games. Another reminder, among many, that many things are far from normal.

"We get our temperature tested every day when we come in," Smith said. "We fill out a form every day asking if we've had contact with anyone with COVID. We have to spread out and separate when we're together and wear a mask when we go grab a snack before the game. But the game of baseball hasn't changed, thankfully."

Cusick and Turconi agree – baseball has been a more consistent presence in an inconsistent time.

Wake Forest Athletics

Trio of Diamond Deacs Excelling in Summer Ball in Triad

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Michael Turconi

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