Head: Hometown Heroes | Big baseball moments for Goetzman, Suchy, Zunica and more
There were two loud ovations on Saturday at McKechnie Field for Granden Goetzman.
First, Goetzman received a loud cheer when he was announced over the public address system as playing baseball at Palmetto High.
Then he dug in, lined a ball off Pittsburgh Pirates starter Francisco Liriano's body and wound up with an infield hit.
That gave Goetzman, who is played for the Tampa Bay Rays' high Single-A club in Charlotte last year, another big round of applause.
Goetzman later scored a run in the Rays' 3-1 victory over the split-squad Pirates, and finished 1-for-4 at the plate. He has one other hit -- a solo home run -- in seven spring at-bats.
Meanwhile, an opponent of Goetzman's during high school -- Southeast alum Michael Suchy -- also received his big league camp moment earlier this month when he belted a home run in a split-squad venture for the Buccos down in Port Charlotte against the Rays. Suchy, who played last season at Single-A West Virginia, also singled in his lone at-bat against the Twins in Fort Myers on March 21.
Brad Zunica
This time last year, Brad Zunica was a key element in the State College of Florida baseball lineup. Then the San Diego Padres drafted the Lakewood Ranch High alum and after a solid rookie minor league season, Zunica was greeted this spring with an inclusion in the Padres' Cactus League game on March 21 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Zunica made his debut in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. He popped out, but the result didn't matter as it was a chance to rub shoulders with major leaguers.
"Been playing baseball for
15 years and nothing compared (to) tonight," tweeted Zunica following the game.
Jada Massie
The Palmetto alum excelled at the Hurricane Invitational at the University of Miami to garner Conference USA track athlete of the week honors. Massie, a freshman at Florida Atlantic University, ran the 100-meter dash in 11.61 seconds to set a new program record and attain the top collegiate finish. She also ran the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.96 seconds to place 23rd in that event.
John Ryan Murphy
A Bradenton native who played his high school baseball at IMG Academy, Murphy snagged one of four Minnesota bench spots awarded to position players. The New York Yankees traded Murphy to the Twinzs in November, and he entered Monday's Grapefruit League action with just three hits in 30 at-bats. But Murphy did enough to snag one of the two catching slots on the 25-man roster.
He'll be the backup for starting catcher Kurt Suzuki.
Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017 or via email at jdill@bradenton.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.
This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Head: Hometown Heroes | Big baseball moments for Goetzman, Suchy, Zunica and more ."