COVID-19 ended their senior years. Future Gamecocks glad to be back on the field
It’s been a while since Cade Austin and David Cromer talked in-person. The two were able to catch up on things Thursday at Segra Park.
The two future South Carolina baseball players shared a conversation on first base during the Chapin-Newberry and Lexington Post 7 matchup at Segra Park, which will be hosting several games this summer for the South Carolina American League summer league.
The S.C. American League was formed as an alternative to American Legion baseball, which canceled their season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Austin pitched and played first base for Chapin-Newberry on Thursday, while Cromer was the designated hitter for Lexington Post 7.
“We talked about who we are rooming with at Carolina and stuff,” Austin said. “It is always good talking to him. Can’t wait to play with him next season.”
Both had their moments in the game as they get back to playing baseball for the first time in three months. Austin pitched the first two innings, allowing a run on three hits. At the plate, he was 3-for-4 including a towering solo homer to left in Chapin-Newberry’s 10-2 victory.
Austin, who finished with four RBIs, got the best of Cromer in their matchup at the plate, but Cromer had bounced back with two hits in the game.
“Haven’t seen pitching like that in a while and Cade is a tough guy to face,” Cromer said. “So it was good to get the rust off it. Awesome playing against him, catching up.”
The coronavirus pandemic shut down the duo’s promising senior seasons with Austin playing at Chapin and Cromer for Lexington.
At the time of the shutdown, Chapin was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and one of the favorites to win it all. Lexington was 7-2 and won the prestigious NaturChem Invitational to begin the year.
“It is great to be back. Obviously it sucks we couldn’t play high school but there was nothing you can do about it,” Austin said. “I missed it a lot, kind of sitting at home wishing you would be playing. It stunk.”
Both Cromer and Austin have been keeping busy working out and preparing for a chance to play baseball again ahead of their freshmen seasons at South Carolina. The two won’t report to USC until mid-August, which is later than usual because of the coronavirus, so they had the opportunity to play summer baseball.
Austin said he’s been on a throwing program during the break while hitting twice a week. He admitted he was a little rusty Thursday night, locating his curveball and mainly throwing fastballs. One of Austin’s goals before getting to USC is working on his velocity. He was clocked at 94-95 mph during last year’s Palmetto Games.
Major League Baseball teams showed interest in Austin during this month’s shortened five-round draft. He said the Cincinnati Reds offered him a free-agent contract — worth $20,000 (the most teams could sign free agents for — and that playing at South Carolina would be better for his baseball career.
Cromer has been working on his hitting and dropping the extra weight he put early during the shutdown. He said one of his main goals for the summer is to be more relaxed at the plate and continuing to work on hitting the ball to the opposite field.
The Midlands standouts are part of a talented and deep South Carolina team for next season. Perfect Game ranks USC’s incoming class as No. 7 in the country. The Gamecocks also have added a pair of grad transfers in Jaret Bennett and Joe Satterfield.
“I am really excited to get there,” Cromer said. “I just can’t wait to learn from the older guys and get pointers from them. And I just want to get faster, better at the game of baseball.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 8:55 AM with the headline "COVID-19 ended their senior years. Future Gamecocks glad to be back on the field."
