Noah Samol (Courtesy photo)
ASHEBORO – Noah Samol still holds big aspirations as a college pitcher, and he came to Asheboro this summer to help get those on track.
Samol is a Clemson pitcher who has taken the mound for the Asheboro ZooKeepers in the Coastal Plain League.
“Glad to be out here,” Samol said. “You just got to go somewhere and just pitch.”
It has been far from a simple path to this point.
The start-and-stop nature of Samol’s baseball experiences began several years ago. He had Tommy John surgery as a high school sophomore in Mason, Ohio.
He signed with Georgia Tech and spent the 2023 season in that program, but sensed it wasn’t the right fit. He landed a spot at Clemson, another Atlantic Coast Conference program.
But first, he was in the Northwoods League for summer ball last year. He didn’t have much success there.
“I couldn’t find the strike zone,” he said.
Before arriving at Clemson, he went to train late last summer in Arizona. That’s where he sustained a dislocated right shoulder.
Fortunately, he’s left-handed. So that was a comfort.
“My original plan was to pitch all year and have surgery in the summer,” he said. “I was not one of the better pitchers in the fall at all.”
So he went ahead with the surgery, realizing he would sit out Clemson’s 2024 season.
He needed a good set-up for this summer and that’s where the ZooKeepers fit in.
“Send me anywhere that I can get a ton of innings,” he said. “I want to have an impact on the team.”
It has been a slow build-up for Samol, who stands at 6-foot-7. Of his first 10 outings, seven came as a reliever.
“He needs to have a good summer here,” ZooKeepers head coach Korey Dunbar said. “We’re continually building him up.”
Samol’s workload has grown from two-inning stints to a spot in the starting rotation. He was picked for the CPL All-Star Game.
“I’m trying to be a starter, but still have work to do,” Samol said.
He gave up eight runs in five innings last week in a road loss to the Boone Bigfoots. In his previous outing, he struck out eight Bigfoots in five innings.
His fastball clocks at about 89-92 mph.
By now, Samol said he feels a strong connection to Clemson. He was checking the Tigers’ controversial final game in the NCAA super regionals against Florida on his phone from the bullpen in Boone on June 9.
Samol has company when it comes to representing Clemson with the ZooKeepers. Center fielder Devin Parks from Clemson joined the Asheboro club a few weeks into the season.
Last year, Jay Dillard and Lleyton Lackey were Clemson players suiting up for the ZooKeepers.
** Update: Earlier this week, it was announced that Samol took a spot in the Cape Cod League, leaving the ZooKeepers.
About the games …
The ZooKeepers fell in two of their first three CPL games last week after the gap in the schedule for the CPL All-Star Game.
Dylan Driver, Nick Capozzi and Zach Evans homered in an 18-5 whipping of the host High Point-Thomasville HiToms in the first game back. It was reduced to eight innings by the mercy rule.
Evans scored four runs and Peter Mullen provided four shutout innings in relief.
The next night at home, the ZooKeepers fell 8-7 to the HiToms despite Alex LaCoste’s grand slam in a six-run first inning. It was LaCoste’s first at-bat of the season.
That was followed by an 11-5 loss to host Boone. Yariel Diaz had three Asheboro hits and Driver smacked two doubles in the game.
Then there was a 12-7 non-conference home victory against the Uwharrie Wampus Cats, boosted by Davis Germann’s three-run home run and Tyler Behm’s relief pitching.
