New Brighton's Thull makes opponents take notice,
even if college coaches aren't
|
| Bill Utterback,
Times Sports Staff |
07/13/2004 |
|
 |
 |
New
Brighton's Cody Thull
The Times Photo |
|
NEW BRIGHTON - Cody Thull's summer has been both
exquisite and exasperating.
Thull, playing baseball for
New Brighton's American Legion team, is sculpting one of the
most extraordinary seasons in Beaver County League history. He
has a .619 batting average and 14 home runs, including seven
in his past seven games. He hit two homers Sunday as New
Brighton faced elimination and claimed a playoff victory at
Riverside.
College coaches, however, have little
interest in the maturing talent of 2004 graduates. They've
spent most of their 2004 scholarship money and have turned
their attention toward younger players.
As New
Brighton moves into today's playoff game with Riverside - the
third in the best-of-three series - Thull has received an
offer from Penn State-Behrend and an intriguing phone call
from West Virginia.
"It's disappointing to me. People
are missing out on a great talent," Joe Signore, who coaches
New Brighton's varsity and American Legion teams, said. "In my
opinion, Cody is the best player in Beaver County right now. I
have a lot of respect for Mike Burger and the kids at
Blackhawk, but I don't see anybody putting up numbers like
Cody."
Burger has accepted a scholarship to West
Virginia, while teammate Sean Conley has accepted a
scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh. Both
scholarship offers were made in the fall of 2003 after Burger
and Conley revealed promise during their sophomore and junior
seasons.
Thull - who stands 6-foot-2, weighs 190 pounds
and consistently runs the 60-yard dash in less than seven
seconds - was a solid player as a high school junior (.333
average, four home runs) and became more influential as a
senior (.450, four home runs).
During the Legion
season, his commitment has unlocked his significant talent.
Before his current streak, he had three multiple home run
games, including a 10-RBI game against Brighton
Township.
In the past seven games, against playoff
teams, he has ripped 15 hits, 11 for extra bases, while
driving in 20 runs. He has five consecutive games with two or
more hits. Five of his past 10 hits have been home
runs.
"I've never seen a player put together a hitting
streak like this," Signore said.
Thull shrugs when
asked to explain the streak.
"I'm have a pretty good
season so far, but there's nothing I can say to explain it,"
he said. "It just started happening. I haven't really done
anything differently. I'm just loose, and I'm not worrying
about anything."
Thull's relaxed perspective at the
plate is the product of long hours of redesigning his batting
stance.
"He's confident now, but he put a lot of work
in to get to this point," Signore said.
Signore said
that Thull had a flawed stance but began working to improve it
last summer. The key was the transfer of weight from back foot
to front foot.
"He worked on it all winter, in
practice, after practice, whenever he could," Signore said.
"He reminds me of Terry Francona, who I played with, in the
way he approaches hitting now. His swing is perfect,
absolutely perfect."
A year ago, a perfect swing would
have been marketable. This summer, nobody seems to have
noticed. Thull tries not to get discouraged.
"It's a
little frustrating," he said. "I thought if I got better ...
"
Thull figured if he became a better hitter, college
coaches would notice. Perhaps, they will.
"This isn't
over yet," Signore said. "You're going to keep hearing about
Cody Thull."
Clayton Hamilton had no scholarship
opportunities after his senior year, but walked onto the team
at Penn State and was drafted by the San Diego Padres. Josh
Sharpless of Freedom went to Allegheny College, an NCAA
Division III school, but the Pirates found him and drafted
him.
Thull isn't focusing on his future. He's focused
on his team.
Keith DeRuscia, a New Brighton assistant,
has been impressed by Thull's leadership and example. DeRuscia
pointed to Thull's persistence in backing up throws,
regardless of the score, and to the way he encourages the
team's youngest players.
"The way he approaches the
game touches you in so many different ways," DiRuscia
said.
"I'm looking at this as my last season in a New
Brighton uniform," Thull said, "and I want to do everything
right. I want to go as far as we can in the playoffs, and I
want to encourage the guys who are going to be here after me.
I want to put everything into this season."
|
| ©Beaver County Times/Allegheny
Times 2004 |
|
.gif){kind=spacer}
Click here to make Times Online your
homepage!