Cole Roederer was having one of those days.
Not great, not bad – just kind of, well, unproductive.
He’d gone to watch a friend play baseball. He’d been unsuccessful in eradicating a live squirrel from the family truck.
Then he received a message on his phone. It was from his dad, Glenn. It was good news.
It was a link to an article on MaxPreps.com in which Roederer had been named an underclass All-American.
“I was freaking out like a little kid,” said Roederer, a UCLA recruit who hit .353 with 31 runs, 28 RBIs and four home runs last season as a junior. “It was crazy.”
The news also helped break up anticipation he felt waiting to hear if he’d made the Brewers Area Code roster after two tryouts.
Even after a performance he was proud of at USC earlier this month (he laced a line drive into the gap, but an outfielder made an “insane catch”), he remained unsure Monday if he’d made the cut.
Word is expected sometime this week. The Area Code games are scheduled for Aug. 6-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach.
“You never know,” he said.
What Roederer, a center fielder, does know is the feeling of swiping bags at a higher level than anyone in the Foothill League this year. Roederer successfully stole on 26 of 27 attempts this season.
“You have that adrenaline going,” he says of what it feels like to swipe second. “You’re sitting there, with happy feet in a way, and you have this increased adrenaline. As soon as the pitcher picks up his leg, everything is going to second base.
“When I get to second base, I’m so happy. If I stole 1,000 bases in my life, I guarantee I’d smile every time.”
In softball, Valencia High rising senior Ally Shipman was named an underclass All-American by MaxPreps.
The catcher hit .613 with 15 home runs and 39 RBIs this season. She walked 33 times and didn’t strike out, helping the Vikings to the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals.
Hart falls in VIBL final
For the second time in three years, Hart High baseball fell to a team made up of players from El Camino Real in Woodland Hills in the Valley Invitational Baseball League championship.
The Indians lost 7-6 in 10 innings to ECR on Saturday night at Burroughs High in Burbank.
Tripp Bowers pitched six-plus strong innings for Hart. He ultimately left with a no decision. More details weren’t available as of The Signal’s Monday press deadline.
