Austin’s emergence helps drive hot start for CPL’s ZooKeepers

ASHEBORO — Cameron Austin, like so many players who play at the collegiate level, had an outstanding career in high school. The Barnwell (S.C.) High School two-way star earned numerous accolades and awards at the regional and state levels.

And when that success continued right on through to the fall season his first year at the University of South Carolina Aiken, things looked very good for the 6-foot-0, 190-pound outfielder.

But baseball, especially at the collegiate level, can be humbling.

“I came into the spring season as a starter in the outfield and the first five or six games didn’t go my way and I fell into a hole,” Austin said. “I never dealt with that in my life. I never let it affect me mentally, but it is an eye-opener when you experience it. I got off to such a bad start and I knew I was capable of a lot more. That’s why it has meant so much to come here.”

Now in Asheboro, whatever was troubling him at USC Aiken has seemed to disappear. Austin, who started toward the bottom of the lineup, has moved to the top and is hitting a robust .365, the ninth best in the Coastal Plain League.

“He’s a kid from a small town in South Carolina and he’s pretty quiet,” Asheboro manager Jamey May said. “He’s pretty quiet and just goes about his business pretty well. 

“He cares about the game and he cares about his body. He’s always in the gym, always at the (YMCA) working out. He pays big-time attention to detail. I expect a big year at USC Aiken for him.”

Last year didn’t go as he hoped, but with the help of family and teammates, he has turned the corner.

“I have a lot of guys around me who have been through the same thing at their schools and how they dealt with it,” Austin said of his first year of collegiate baseball. “Positive affirmations will get you through it. 

“You can’t have a positive result every time, that’s not how baseball works. You are going to realize failure. That’s just a part of it.” 

As stated before, Austin has apparently figured things out. It would be difficult for anyone in the CPL to have a better five-game stretch than Austin enjoyed in mid-June. In two games against Greenville and one each against Holly Springs, Martinsville and Lexington County, Austin was 13-for-21 (.619) with five runs scored and nine RBIs. He hit two home runs and stole three bases in that five-game span.

“It feels like when you are up at the plate, everything slows down and everything you hit finds a hole,” he said of that impressive stretch. “You know it doesn’t last forever.”

For the season, he’s hitting .359 with seven doubles and three home runs. He has scored 16 times and knocked in 22. He has an OBP of .460 and a slugging percentage of .568. 

The ZooKeepers were 14-8 and one game behind High Point-Thomasville for first place in their division heading into action Monday.

“He’s always on base, he does a great job of passing the bat to Brady McGuire, who is in the two hole,” May said. “He gives us a good chance to score a run in the first inning to get ahead early. He’s big for us. He can run, he can hit, he can hit for power and he can play the field. It’s hard to take him out of the lineup.”

There’s still plenty of CPL season left, but Austin said he’s enjoyed the challenge thus far.

“The CPL is awesome, it’s surpassed any expectations I had,” he said. “I have a lot of friends who play in the CPL on other teams, it’s great competition. 

“I came here to get the most at-bats possible,” Austin added. “I wanted reps against good competition, to prove to myself that I could compete against this type of competition.”