The Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies are having yet another stellar season and their junior outfielder Ajay Sczepkowski is a big reason behind their success. He's one of the NAIA most prolific offensive threats with a batting average well over .400, a position among the leaders in home runs and surprising speed for a slugger his size as he is also in the top ten nationally in stolen bases.

Sczepkowski had played previously at NCAA D-I Charleston Southern before GGC. Its not uncommon for players to move from DI to the NAIA, but usually its after they've struggled to get at bats due to limited playing time or simply not being up to the challenge of playing at the highest amateur level. However that is not the case with Sczepkowski. Last season he helped Charleston Southern make a surprising run to the Big South Championship as he topped the team in total bases, doubles and home runs while hitting .310. However the Bucs finished well under .500 and Sczepkowski wanted to play on a winner - a team capable of winning the whole enchilada. That's why he decided to move on to play for Gwinnett. No idea why he decided to be on this podcast though. That's a total puzzle.

It wasn’t long ago opponents could see an upcoming series against SAGU and immediately pencil in wins. In 2017 and 2018, their record was an unimpressive 27-68 and were on the wrong end of numerous double-digit losses. The next season Matt Cornacchione was hired to lead the Lions and revamp the paltry program which had never finished over .500. His success was immediate. In 2019 the Lions won a school record 26 games and that mark would be bested once again in each of the next two complete seasons as well. That alone makes Coach Cornacchione story at SAGU remarkable, but there’s another aspect to what he has accomplished with his team that makes it even more compelling.

SAGU is not a typical college. It is a private Christian university. And it is not only a Christian university, but one in Texas, deeply entrenched in the bible belt. It is an extremely conservative school with a bible-center curriculum. They don’t allow profanity, drinking alcohol or rated "R" movies. Even dancing is regulated. As a result, that really, really, really narrows down your pool of potential players when recruiting – even if you are located in the heart of evangelical country. That makes what Coach Cornacchione has accomplished even more fascinating. He’s taking down big targets with limited ammunition.

Kevin Brooks has been the only head coach for the DII powerhouse Angelo State Rams since the program's resurrection in 2005. Under his guidance not once in their history have they finished below .500 as they have solidly churned out Lone Star Conference title after title after title. Their success has not been limited to conference championships either. Oh heck no, not by a long shot. Over two dozen Ram players have earned All-American accolades and they’ve reached the national finals five times including each of the past two years. Despite all the school’s tremendous success, one accomplishment has so far eluded Brooks and San Angelo State – a national title. Could this finally be the Rams year? I don't know, maybe. They're pretty gosh darn good. One thing that I do know is Coach Brooks not only has a knack for coaching, but chatting has well and he makes for a great listen.

Joey Wendle was one of DII's most accomplished players as he played four solid seasons at West Chester University which concluded with him leading the Golden Rams to the 2012 national title. Following the season he was selected in the sixth round by the Cleveland Indians and made a steady ascent to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and played his first full season in 2018 when he batted .300 and finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting for the Tampa Bay Rays. In this episode of the 123 Inning College Baseball Podcast we talk about how he went from a scrawny 100 lb prep player to full time MLB star, and for some reason, big-cat rights activist Carole Baskin.

Nick Garcia is one of the most intriguing prospects in this year's upcoming Major League Baseball draft. He spent his freshman year on the Chapman Panther baseball team as the club's third baseman. As a sophomore he switched to the mound and a pro prospect was born. With tremendous poise, a driven work ethic and an upper 90's fastball he is one of the highest rated amateur athletes eligible for this year's draft. Projections put him in the top 60-70s players overall which could make him one of the highest drafted DIII player ever joining MLB All Stars Billy Wagner who was selected 12th overall in 1993 and 2007 second round pick Jordan Zimmerman.

The numbers he put up on the mound at Chapman were phenomenal. Over the past two seasons he amassed 83 innings and only allowed 48 hits with 118 strikeouts. His ERA was a teeny tiny 1.08. The knock against Nick is that those numbers were put up against lesser competition. Nevertheless, Garcia isn’t completely barren of big game experience. He helped the Panthers to the DIII baseball title in 2019 and pitched in the Cape Cod League last summer where held his own against the ilk of players from nation. He’s proved that he doesn’t discriminate against DIII batters. If you’re a division one he has no problem striking you out either.

Jimmy Endersby started his college career playing on the acclaimed Cal State Fullerton baseball squad, but found himself mired in a logjam of talent and fighting for innings. He had converted from playing the field to pitching but was on the bench far more than in the lineup. After two season on the Titans he transferred to California Irvine and put up beastly numbers on the mound. This past spring, after an outstanding summer of training, he rocketed up the draft charts and became a potential top five round draft pick.

Josiah Gray started his college career primarily as an infielder at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. His decision to attend the small DII school was an easy one as Dolphins’ head coach Scott Cassidy was the only coach to make him an offer. As a freshman Gray picked up some late innings on the mound as he had pitched in high school, but far from excelled as he allowed 11 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings while giving up 18 hits. As a sophomore however, things clicked. He added a couple digits to fastball to push it into the mid 90s and finished the seasons as LC’s dominating closer with 22 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings and a teeny 0.63 ERA and minuscule 0.628 WHIP. The following summer he continued to excel in the Cape Code Baseball League and fanned another 21 batters in 13 innings. In doing so he instantly became a hot prospect. He continued to dominate his junior season as a starter as held opposition to a 1.25 ERA and finished the season with a perfect 11-0 record. He was drafted in the second round of the 2018 draft by the Reds and was traded to the Dodgers in the offseason. In 2019 he dominated in his first full season of professional baseball as he was named Los Angeles’ Minor League Pitcher of Year as he flourished at three levels. While on the fast path to the majors Gray took a brief timeout to talk on the 123 Inning College Baseball Podcast.

Mitch Lively earned accolades as a punter at Sacramento State, but his future in sports would be on the mound. He walked on as a pitcher for the Hornets and didn't put up spectacular numbers (or even decent tbh) but his size and fastball were impressive enough to earn him selection in the 2007 MLB Draft. He put up quality numbers in the minor leagues but opted to pursue international avenues instead and earned himself roster spots in Japan, Mexico and Venezuela. Currently Lively is one of the top talents in the Chinese Professional Baseball League where he pitches for the Chinatrust Brothers. With the CPBL being one of the few professional leagues currently in action, I reached out to Lively to talk about his baseball career as well as living life and pitching in Taiwan. The entertaining and informative Lively provided a interesting account of what it is like to play in the CPBL, especially in the times of a global pandemic.

Even though he will turn 29 this summer, Antonio Carrillo is going to come back to Point Park for more season of college baseball in 2021. An opportunity to play that one final year is something that he has been wanting to do for nearly a decade. He was drafted out of high school in the 2009 MLB Draft but elected to attend San Diego State and play for MLB HOFer Tony Gwynn. However his college career didn't go as planned and he stopped playing after his sophomore season. After spending his Sundays playing in recreation leagues he decided he wanted to give it one more go even though he was now married with a pair of young children. It is a big puzzle to fit everything in as he works evenings in an Amazon warehouse and being an Uber driver to support his family while they support his dream of playing college baseball.

When the latest freshman baseball recruit stepped onto the Rivier University campus, the Raiders received a prospect unlike any they’d ever had on their roster. The 5-foot-10 catcher had a pedigree which included playing for a national team against top competition from around the globe including Puerto Rico, Mexico and Nicaragua.

The recruit, who hailed from just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, had spent part of the summer playing at an elite MLB endorsed invitational in Dallas’ Global Life Field, was a touted multi-talented athlete who not only was capable of playing behind the plate, but able to effectively pitch as well.

That wasn’t what made the 18-year-old unique. It also wasn’t the fact that they had played so brilliantly they caught the attention of an MLB scout who recommended to a long-time coaching friend that he check out video and make a spot on his roster.

What made this recruit special was the long, golden pony-tail which emerged from the back of her ball cap and was frequently found flung over her left shoulder. The Raiders’ newest recruit was Marika Lyszczyk, the first female catcher in collegiate baseball.

In this edition of the 123 Inning Pod I talk with Marika and her journey to become the first female player in the NCAA.