I have to admit that Ryan McCarty snuck up on me a little bit this summer.

On July 4, he was hitting .288/.407/.515- good, but not necessarily Top 15 worthy. All he did from that point (15 games, including the playoffs) is go 24-55, with 18 runs, eight doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, and 10/16 BB/K. I think it’s safe to say he switched into a higher gear!

Overall, McCarty hit .356/.445/.615 in 104 regular season at-bats, with 29 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, four home runs, 16 RBIs, 17/24 BB/K, and 17 stolen bases. He finished fifth in the league in batting average, seventh in OPS, tenth in on-base percentage, fifth in slugging, eighth in total bases (64), tied for eighth in home runs, second in triples, tied for fifth in doubles, and tied for eighth in runs scored.

And all of this while pitching, too! On the mound, he went 2-1, 3.10 in 29 innings, with only two walks against 15 strikeouts.

He was named an All-Star, and second team All-Valley at utility at the end of the season. He had three hits five times, and four hits once. On July 7 at Covington, he went 3-5, with two runs, a double, home run, two RBIs, and a stolen base. Just two days later, he went 4-6 against Charlottesville, with a home run and scoring three runs.

He also played for Staunton in 2019, when he hit .206/.340/.373 in 126 at-bats, with 23 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 21 RBIs, 22/32 BB/K, and six stolen bases. On the mound that summer, he went 2-1, 5.92, with a 2/7 BB/K in 13 2/4 innings pitched.

Now let’s tackle his college stats. McCarty has played for four years at Division-III Penn State Abington. Year by year:

  • 2018: .433/.514/.660 in 150 at-bats, 49 runs, 16 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 47 RBIs, 19/10 BB/K, 17 stolen bases; 5-4, 3.92 in 58 innings, 12/31 BB/K. D3 Baseball’s Mid Atlantic Rookie of the Year, as well as overall Rookie of the Year, 1st Team All Mid-Atlantic Region, ABCA/Rawlings NCAA D-III Mid-Atlantic 1st team; NEAC Rookie of the Year, 1st team All-Conference. (Deep breath)
  • 2019: .351/.446/.510 in 151 at-bats, 34 runs, 15 doubles, three home runs, 30 RBIs, 21/12 BB/K, nine stolen bases; 7-3, 4.17 in 74 innings, 14/46 BB/K. 1st Team All-Conference, NEAC Pitcher of the Year
  • 2020: .393/.444/.607 in 56 at-bats (shortened season), 15 runs, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBIs, 4/8 BB/K, seven stolen bases; 1-2, 3.96 in 25 innings, 4/19 BB/K
  • 2021: .436/.512/.782 in 101 at-bats, 35 runs, 15 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 33 RBIs, 14/15 BB/K, five stolen bases; 3-1, 1.69 in 22 innings, 2/19 BB/K. ABCA 2nd team Mid-Atlantic Region, D3 Baseball 3rd team All-Region, NEAC 1st team All-Conference

McCarty is back at Abington for one more year- looks like a shoo-in for the Athletic Department Hall of Fame!

(Staunton photos taken by Michael Terndrup at photographyninja.smugmug.com)