Long list of area baseball players make college choices

Friday night was a special night for several of the area’s better high school baseball players as 13 signed national letters of intent.

The players met at Indigo Joe’s to share their college choices with family, friends and peers.

“This is the first time we’ve organized something city-wide like this,” Pine Creek assistant Rob McCoy said. “This is one of the biggest signing classes ever in Colorado Springs.”

Pine Creek had the largest number of signees, as six committed to play college ball, including a trio of players going to junior college.

Teammates Frank McCoy, Quinn Tiernan and Zach Wiese are headed southwest.

“This is a special night because I’ve been playing with these two guys since we were in middle school,” Tiernan, a New Mexico Military signee, said.

McCoy (Eastern Arizona) and Wiese (Arizona Western) feel like a lot of pressure has been lifted as they head into their senior seasons.

“It makes me feel laid-back in a way because now all we have to worry about is high school and trying to win a state championship,” McCoy said.

Wiese took it a step further and made a bold prediction.

“We are going to focus on our last high school season, and we’re going to beat Rampart, no question,” he said.

Rampart, the defending conference champion, has four players committed to play college ball, including Robert Forrest and Tony Shicktanz. Both will be attending JUCO powerhouse Iowa Western.

“They are a very good team, and I just liked the atmosphere on campus when I visited,” Forrest said.

Being together as college freshmen is something that is comforting to both.

“It’s like getting an instant friend when you step on campus,” Shicktanz said. “We will make new friends and have new teammates, but it’ll be nice for us both to be there.”