By PAUL GOTHAM
Myrtle Beach is more than a 13-hour drive from Rochester, N.Y., but on Friday the city in South Carolina will serve as home to a pair of former Section V standouts as Ernie Clement (Brighton) and the Virginia Cavaliers take on Conner Simonetti (Fairport) and the Kent State Golden Flashes.
“I’m really excited,” Clement said recently by phone. “It’s always fun playing against other guys from Rochester.”
The two teams will open the Division I college baseball season in the Caravelle Resort Tournament at Pelicans Ballpark home of the Chicago Cubs Class A-Advanced affiliate, Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
“It’s always nice when you’re starting out the season playing against such good competition, so you can get a gauge of where you’re at,” Simonetti commented. “Having two kids from the same area in such good programs makes it better. It’s always nice to have those competitions where you’re playing against each other.”
Clement made 62 appearances (61 starts) in 2015 for the national champion Cavaliers. He hit .292 in the College World Series and was named to the All-CWS Team.
“It’s crazy,” Clement stated. “The expectations for this year are so amped up. Our coach has really emphasized how it’s a new season and a new team. We can’t let last year’s success keep us from maximizing our potential as a baseball team.”
Simonetti, a 35th round selection of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2013 MLB Draft, led Kent State in 2015 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. This despite a nagging finger injury.
“It’s still pretty swollen. I can bend it. There’s still a little bit of tightness, but it’s very obvious there’s something wrong with it when you look at it.”
Simonetti added 10 doubles and three triples last year. He hit .283 and earned Academic All-MAC (Mid American Conference) honors.
“I’ve followed his high school and college career pretty closely,” Clement added. “He’s one of the best around our area. He’s always been a big home run guy. It’s really cool. I’ve been keeping up with his recent success at Kent State.”
While in Monroe County, the pair both train at Diamond Pro – the East Rochester indoor facility owned and operated by former minor league veteran Matt Dryer.
“To have two guys playing on that kind of stage for an opening day at the Division I level where we all come from is pretty cool,” said Dryer noting the recent wintry conditions in western New York. “It’s neat to watch them grow as guys and as players.”
Simonetti was 12 years old when he started going to Diamond Pro for individual instruction.
“Conner was the first lesson I ever gave,” Dryer recalled. “I put a ball on the tee. He took one swing, and I told him he is going to be a professional baseball player. His dad looked at me like I had two heads.
“The first time I ever met up with Ernie, I told him that he needed to work on his defense which shows how much I know because his defense is absolutely spectacular.”
Friday will be the first time Clement and Simonetti play against each other at any level, but it won’t be a first for DP students.
During his freshman season, Clement and Virginia played Cornell with Spencer Scorza (Penfield), Tommy Wagner (Victor) and Dale Wickham (Victor) on the roster.
DP pro’s Chris Bostick (Washington Nationals) and Grant Heyman (Arizona Diamondbacks) met during the 2015 Fall Instructional League.
“I never played against anybody that I knew from Rochester,” said Dryer who was part of the 2001 national champion University of Miami Hurricanes before spending more than seven years in professional baseball. “To have all these guys competing against each other is pretty cool. The fact that they all come and train under one roof when they’re home makes it even more special.”
Coming out of high school, Bostick was a 44th round pick of the Oakland A’s in the 2011 draft. He is currently on the Nationals 40-man roster. Bostick spent one season playing for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
The Diamondbacks chose Heyman in the eighth round of the 2014 draft. He hit .333 this past season for the Hillsboro Hops of the Class A Northwest League.
Both Bostick and Heyman train and give instruction at Diamond Pro during the off-season.
Bostick, Heyman and Simonetti all played in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Bostick earned 2011 NYCBL Player of the Year honors. Heyman hit eight home runs in 80 plate appearances for the 2012 Geneva Red Wings. Simonetti led the NYCBL in 2015 with nine home runs and was named First Team All-League.
Dryer was selected in the 35th round out of high school by the San Francisco Giants.
A 4 p.m. first pitch is scheduled, Friday. Fans can listen to the game here.
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