A college baseball network

Summer club helps players connect with college scouts

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Narrows Baseball Club Head Coach Jon Fuller’s motto is simple: Get players noticed on college scouting radar. This year, Pacific Northwest college scouts turned their heads a little more toward the 18-and-under select baseball team based in Gig Harbor.

The Narrows Baseball Club recently came off its most successful season since the Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy program was created six years ago.

The academy’s team capped the season by winning the Lee Johnson Invitational in Kirkland and the Triple Play Championship last week in Puyallup, bringing the team’s record to 41-17.

The club, located in a warehouse filled with batting cages and other equipment off Burnham Drive, continues to attract talented players from parts of the Kitsap, Gig Harbor and Key peninsulas.

Seven graduated last spring and will move on to play either NCAA Division I or junior college baseball.

Another seven are scheduled to participate in the Baseball Northwest Championships in Portland, Ore. That tournament, which begins today and goes through Sunday, represents 800 of the Pacific Northwest’s top players.

Aside from winning games, Fuller has helped the club’s players in the recruiting process. A handful who are preparing for their junior or senior years attribute their networking with college scouts to Fuller and the academy.

One of them is Gig Harbor senior Scott Schultz, who gave a verbal commitment to play at former national champion Oregon State University last week.

Schultz showed why he has Division I talent when he threw a perfect game with 10 strikeouts in just 72 pitches during the Lee Johnson Invitational.

“We’re getting a lot of interest from these Northwest schools,” said Fuller, who added that Rice and Stanford are looking at Gig Harbor High School junior pitcher Mike McCall.

McCall finished the season with a perfect 10-0 record as a 16-year-old.

Fuller himself played in the major leagues. He was part of the Cincinnati Reds’ organization for about eight years. Parents have essentially called him a player agent for some of the area’s high school prospects who may otherwise be overlooked.

“He’s on the phone daily, contacting coaches and scouts, letting them know about his players and where they can be seen,” said Sam Guinn, mother of Narrows catcher Parker Guinn, who finished this season with a .330 batting average and 13 doubles.

“We, as parents, don’t have the contacts or the knowledge of how to get these kids the right exposure,” she said. “It’s great we have a coach that truly takes an interest in our kids and does everything he can to help these kids make their dreams come true.”

The U18 team played about 60 games during the summer and traveled around the state.

Peninsula High graduate Chris Burke said if it weren’t for Fuller, Central Arizona Community College — one of the premier junior college baseball programs in the country — wouldn’t have noticed him.

“That’s huge for me,” Burke said. “I don’t have the size to be seen. It’s great he can make calls for people like me who are above-average players. It gives us a chance.”

Fuller said when the program started, the goal was to get the best players from the area to play college baseball.

Just not from the other side of the bridge.

“We don’t try and pursue guys from Tacoma,” Fuller said. “We’re looking for the best kids from the Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula and Kitsap County at a young level. There’s enough talent up here to build a really good program.”

The Narrows Club is pulling players from as far away as Olympic High in Silverdale. This year, the 18U team featured a handful of players who were playing one or two years ahead of their class.

“It’s probably been the best (year), just because we were young,” Fuller said. “Some years, we’ve had a lot of kids who are all 18, but this year, it was a nice mix.”

Fuller said next year bodes well, considering many of the players will return.

Another player who may benefit from Fuller’s networking help is Gig Harbor High School junior outfielder Spencer Manjarrez, who is preparing to take an unofficial visit to Oregon State.

Manjarrez said he’s received more looks from summer ball than from his high school performances.

“I made some really good friends and got college looks,” Manjarrez said. “It was a successful season.”

Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy Highlights

18-and-under statistics

Hitting

Chris Burke — .437 average, 23 doubles, 7 home runs, 51 RBIs, 28 stolen bases

Matt Brown — 13 doubles, 6 HRs, 50 RBIs, 45 SB

Chet Thompson — .381 average

Spencer Manjarrez — 13 doubles, 43 RBIs, 14 SB

Parker Guinn — .330, 13 doubles, 42 walks, 19 SBs, .458 on-base percentage

Jake Dewhirst — .313, 8 doubles, 18 RBIs in 15 games

Carl Beck — .313, 26 RBIs, 12 SBs

Pitching

Scott Schultz — 12-3, 1.15 ERA, 132 strikeouts, three shutouts, including a perfect game

David Bigelow — 10 shutout innings in one tournament

Jake Hohbein — 9-7, 2.90 ERA, 71 Ks

Mike McCall — 10-0, 1.34 ERA, two shutouts

Kyle Knowles — 8-2, 2.38 ERA

Players heading to college

Matt Brown (Peninsula High School): Central Arizona CC

Chris Burke (PHS): Central Arizona CC

Chet Thompson (Gig Harbor High School): University of Portland

Ghryn Hobson (South Kitsap High School): Olympic CC

Kyle Knowles (PHS): Pierce CC

Jake Hohbein (PHS): Pierce CC

Darrell Newman (Klahowya High School): Big Bend CC

Baseball Northwest Championships

Olympia HS: Quinn Batt, senior

GHHS: David Bigelow, senior

GHHS: Scott Schultz, senior

GHHS: Parker Guinn, junior

GHHS: Spencer Manjarrez, junior

GHHS: Mike McCall, junior

SKHS: D’aundray VanSlyke, junior