Local players shine in College World Series
There's still a possibility Jon Cross will find his way to Omaha, Neb., so he can watch at least a few games in the College World Series.
There's still a possibility Jon Cross will find his way to Omaha, Neb., so he can watch at least a few games in the College World Series.
If not, his new best friend will be a TV.
No fewer than five products of Inter-Ac League or Catholic League schools can be found on rosters for the eight-team event, which begins today, and a million-kilowatt smile is affixed to Cross' face because three are graduates of Germantown Academy.
Cross, Class of 1989, played baseball there. However, his desire to root unabashedly for Virginia centerfielder John Barr, North Carolina shortstop Tommy Coyle and Florida righthander Keenan Kish goes way beyond mere fellow-Patriots status.
He was instrumental in making them Patriots.
Cross, who recently completed his fourth season as a Penn assistant, previously worked at GA under then-coach Craig Conlin, who's now the basketball boss at Episcopal Academy. One of his duties was to find talented players, preferably with solid character and strong academics, and bring them into the fold.
Talk about hitting a home run . . .
All three were excellent at GA from the well-rounded standpoint. Plus, they came from great families. Barr's father, John, is a lawyer. Tom Coyle and Charlie and Kathyrn Kish are doctors.
"Tommy Coyle was the first one of those three guys I saw and I remember that scene distinctly," said Cross, who's also a lawyer. "We had a little tournament on our campus for youth teams and Tommy was with the Pennsylvania Knights.
"I said to our JV coach, Charlie McGeehan, that we really needed a good lefthanded-hitting shortstop that could run. Five seconds later, I saw Tommy Coyle. Quite frankly, his talent level was off the charts. For the next 3 hours, I couldn't believe that exactly what I said we needed was right there in front of my face.
"Even at that point, because he was small, some people had written Tommy off. I said, 'I don't care. His motor is off the charts and you can tell he loves the game.' I was very fortunate to find Tommy and then I hear, 'Oh, by the way, he has a brother.' And then I say, 'I don't even need to see him. I'll take them both.' "
Tommy Coyle, a 2009 GA grad, starts at second base for the 50-14 Tar Heels. He's second in batting average (.318), tied for first in doubles (16) and leads the squad in steals (18). His brother, Sean, also a middle infielder, starred for the Patriots last school year and was the Red Sox' third-round draft choice; he's now with Class A Greenville.
Kish, only a freshman, has appeared in 12 games for Florida. Over 14 innings, his ERA is an outrageous 0.63. His brother, Colin ('08), a starting outfielder for Florida Southern, this spring hit .354 with 39 RBI.
Barr, Virginia's centerfielder, is a senior. Tabbed recently by the Cleveland Indians in the 39th round, he's hitting .283 with 33 RBI.
One of Barr's teammates is Rob Amaro, a backup infielder/catcher and a Penn Charter grad (and the nephew of Ruben Amaro Jr., the Phillies general manager).
The fifth city-leagues player in the CWS mix is South Carolina first/third baseman Christian Walker, who leads the defending national champs in average (.359), doubles (18), homers (10) and RBI (60). Walker, a sophomore, attended now-defunct Kennedy-Kenrick in Norristown.
"Know what? We almost had him at GA, too," Cross said. "Imagine if that had happened."
Listen to Cross talk and one gets the strong impression he pretty much views the Coyles, Kishes and Barr as quintuplets.
"They all had a strong work ethic," he said. "And they all came from very supportive families that had a strong belief in education and the value of athletics. GA was so fortunate to get them.
"It makes me very proud to see what these young men have done. And to have three of them in the same College World Series . . . just really special. They've all played a role in getting their teams to Omaha."
