Three UNC baseball players make USA Baseball Summer League Team

Radar Guns. Stop Watches. Hot and humid weather. Major League Baseball scouts and fans gathered at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. to watch the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.

First-year catcher Luke Stevenson, first-year right-handed pitcher Jason DeCaro and sophomore right-handed pitcher Matthew Matthijs  — who is also a USA baseball alumnus — were selected along with 52 other athletes for the two-day training camp on Wednesday and Thursday. 

During the camp, players were split into two teams to determine who would make the International Series Roster or the Summer League Tour Roster. If chosen for the International Series, players would take the field for the 21st USA vs. Chinese Taipei series, while the others would play on the Summer League Tour against teams from the Appalachian League and Coastal Plain League.

The 55-player roster was split into two teams, Stars and Stripes. Since the games were for training purposes, innings were walked over, with set extra man batting lineups and new pitchers taking the mound every frame. This allowed the coaches to see what players were capable of in a real-time game setting. 

Stevenson, DeCaro and Matthijs suited up for the Stripes during game one. 

Notable attendees included junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt, junior left-handed pitcher Shea Sprague, sophomore left-handed pitcher Dalton Pence and several more rows of teammates that showed up to support their fellow Diamond Heels.

In game one, Stevenson caught for the first five innings. The first-year did well defensively, having three putouts and one assist through his five innings. On offense, he struggled going 0-4 with two strikeouts.

DeCaro pitched during the seventh inning and Matthijs followed in the eighth. DeCaro started hot with a strikeout only to give up a solo home run to sophomore first baseman Anthony Martinez of UC Irvine. The first-year gave up one more hit and a walk before his night was done. 

Matthijs took the mound in the eighth and quickly got to work. He closed his evening with one strikeout, one hit and no runs scored.

The Stripes were defeated by the Stars, 9-5.

The next day, the teams switched dugouts during game two. 

To make it feel more like a traditional game setting, game two did not see new pitchers take the mound during every frame. With this change, DeCaro and Matthijs did not see action.

Stevenson took care of business behind home plate from innings five through nine. He recorded five putouts in four innings. But the catcher suffered the same fate offensively as before, going 0-3 at the plate. 

Game two suffered a similar fate as game one, and the Stars defeated the Stripes 7-1.

All three Tar Heels made the Summer League Tour Roster. The tour took place from June 29 through July 2. They played teams from both the Coastal Plain League and Appalachian League. On Saturday and Sunday, the Summer League Team won both games against the Coastal Plain League Select Team. 

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