Chant of the Week: Blake Barthol
This week’s Chant of the Week is freshman infielder Blake Barthol.
Barthol started his collegiate career with a bang, hitting a home run in his first-ever collegiate at-bat.
“Rounding first and second, I was blacked out,” Barthol said. “Then I was looking up after I rounded second and I looked up at the dugout and I was like ‘oh my God, that just happened.’ I was smiling all the way through.”
This was not just a lucky swing, either. In just six games, Barthol is hitting .381, an exceptional average for any player, let alone a freshman, and has hit two home runs along with eight runs batted in.
The freshman from Pennsylvania played varsity baseball and basketball at Parkland High School. In his senior season, Barthol batted .588 with three home runs, 18 runs batted in, 26 runs, and 15 walks. His offensive burst onto the scene is no surprise.
He wears No. 7 on Coastal Carolina University’s team as he did his senior year of high school. He said he likes sporting the seven because of Dansby Swanson, who is shortstop for the Chicago Cubs and wears the same digit.
“He’s my favorite player, and we didn’t get to pick our numbers, so I walked into the locker room and was No. 7 and I was like ‘this is perfect,’” Barthol said.
Chanticleer fans as well as along with Barthol also look forward to seeing the team evolve.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we evolve during the year, how we progress and get better because I think we have a pretty good team.”