Cougar kudos York duo headlines All-Area squad

By Barry Byers - Barry Byers

If anyone can handle a wait-and-see situation, York's Zac Fuesser is your man.

Fuesser, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound southpaw, is laid back and has a grasp on how to handle pressure. He has signed a scholarship to play baseball at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn. But either Thursday or Friday, Fuesser could get a call from a Major League Baseball team telling him he'd just been drafted.

"If I go to Walters State, I'll go a year and see how the draft goes next spring," Fuesser said. "If it's (the right round in the draft) not there, I'll go back and graduate and see how it works out after my second year.

"I don't care who I play for as long as I get drafted. I think it could be as high as fifth to seventh round of the draft, and if I fall in there or lower I'll definitely take a close look at signing a contract."

Fuesser, The Herald's All-Area Baseball Player of the Year, has the build teams look for in pitchers at the pro level. His fastball has been clocked in the low 90s and he has a wicked curve that looks like it's dropping off the end of a table.

His coach, Scott Kiggans, The Herald's All-Area Baseball Coach of the Year, led the Cougars (16-9) to the Region 3-AAAA title this season and York was ranked among the state's top 10 teams at one point. York tied with Northwestern, but won the title by beating the Trojans twice in region play.

Kiggans, the Cougars' coach for six seasons, played high school baseball and football in New Martinsville, W.Va., and pitched a couple of years in college at West Liberty State College in W.Va., where he earned his degree.

He came to York out of college 12 years ago.

"Back in the fall when we started our conditioning and agility program, I felt we had a chance to win the region title and progress through the playoffs," Kiggans said. "We had 10 players back with varsity experience and all 10, in addition to a couple of newcomers, contributed in one way or other all season.

"With us still being relatively young, we had to concentrate heavily on the defensive side of the ball knowing at the same time that we couldn't afford to ignore the offensive side. We had a lot of doubters at the beginning of the season, but our kids never bought into that and continued to work hard every day to prove them wrong. It all paid off."

And he had Fuesser, who was voted the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. Fuesser is a gifted player whether on the mound or defending first base.

As a pitcher, he was 6-1 with a 1.12 ERA, 76 strikeouts in 58 2-3 innings and four saves. Pretty good, no doubt, but at the plate, Fuesser batted .549 with 39 hits, 13 doubles, three home runs, a triple and 24 RBIs.

Fuesser, whose lone loss came in York's final game, a 4-3 playoff loss to White Knoll, has worked out for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. He doesn't care who drafts him as long as he gets a shot. And as far as his prowess with a bat is concerned, Fuesser said it won't be hard to give up the hitting as long as he gets to pitch. He'll probably do both if he goes to college.

Kiggans said as Fuesser went, so went the Cougars. It should come as no surprise that his laid-back nature rubbed off on his teammates.

"The whole personality of our high school team was pretty much laid back," Fuesser said. "We liked to joke around. Because of the atmosphere, we played the game and had fun. It was loose and made us play better. It's not like that at a lot of places.

"High school is done and it's time to look at the future, but looking back, I'd have to say the toughest batter I faced was Clover's Brooks McCarter. He didn't hit me hard, but I never could strike him out. But I've never backed down from any batter. Every one of them is a challenge, and I know life is full of challenges."

Kiggans is also looking toward the future. In addition to Fuesser, he graduated four other seniors. He returns 13 players who lettered and will still have a roster full of young players.

"We hope we can do as well next year, but that will happen only if we maintain the work ethic of this season," Kiggans said. "This might have been the hardest-working group we've ever had, and that was the key.

"Being named coach of the year is more an award for my coaching staff and my players than it is for me. Without them buying into our program, we wouldn't have had the kind of season we had."