ZooKeepers get off to hot start

ASHEBORO —Since the Coastal Plain League switched from having a season with two halves to one that encompasses the entire season, it may not be as important as it once was to get off to a fast start.

But the Asheboro ZooKeepers are off to a fast start anyway. Searching for their first CPL championship, they have already enjoyed a five-game winning streak as the first full week of the season came to an end.

“Getting the right guys in at the right time,” head coach and General Manager Korey Dunbar said of the early-season success, including a 6-2 record through Sunday’s games. “It boils down to them being consistent. They put in the work daily. Good things happen to those who work hard.”

The ZooKeepers dropped an 11-3 decision at Holly Springs in the season opener on May 29 before they recorded five straight victories. Asheboro recorded an 11-1 win over the Hi-Toms, a 10-0 win over Martinsville, a 13-4 victory over Wilmington, defeated Boone 4-3 and then topped Florence 7-2 on Friday.

They’ve done it with what usually leads to success on the baseball field: Hitting .296 as a team and recording a team ERA of 3.06. 

“We have to continue to get better,” Dunbar said. “I don’t know if we’re playing our best baseball now, but we’re finding ways to win games early on.”

Offensively, the ZooKeepers surpassed double-digits in runs three times and the pitching staff allowed just 10 runs in the five-game winning streak, which ended Saturday in a 3-1 loss to the Martinsville. The ZooKeepers bounced right back on Sunday for an 8-4 win over Holly Springs.

Davis Germann, from Morehead State, was hitting .529 (9-for-17, second in the league through the first six games) with seven runs scored, nine RBIs and three home runs. He hit .250 in 21 games for the ZooKeepers last summer.

“Number one, he puts in a lot of work to become a better all-around player,” Dunbar said. “He made some adjustments. He’s a year older. Him being familiar with how we do things here and our expectations, he has hit the ground running.”

UNC-Asheville’s Jake Minarik started at .389 (7-for-18 with four runs scored). Penn’s Nick O’Brien, another returning player, was hitting .350, while Barton College’s Yariel Diaz was hitting .333. Tennessee Wesleyan’s Kruise Newman was at .333 through his first three games.  

Five different players have recorded pitching wins with Presbyterian’s Mason McDaniel giving up five hits in seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts, Penn’s Connor Darling striking out six in five scoreless innings and North Carolina Wesleyan’s Nathanael Volk allowing just one run in seven innings.

“Pitching and defense, hopefully those guys can keep doing what they are doing,” Dunbar said. “At some point, we’ll face some adversity. We need to keep our nose to the grindstone.”