University of Findlay infielder Casey Gould relays the ball to first base. Gould, a Findlay senior and Marysville High School graduate, was batting .419 for the Oilers when the coronavirus pandemic ended the 2020 season. (Photo submitted)
Marysville High School graduate Casey Gould began his senior season of college baseball on a very hot note.
The former Monarch infielder-pitcher was batting .419 after 12 games this spring during his final campaign in a University of Findlay uniform.
The coronavirus pandemic, however, got the final out on every spring batter as colleges throughout the country shut down classes and sports for the remainder of the academic year.
“I never expected anything like this to happen,” said Gould during a recent telephone interview with the Journal-Tribune. “This really stinks.”
Gould, an infielder-outfielder, was one of the leaders of this year’s very young version of an Oilers ball club.
He was one of only a handful of seniors left from an 11-man class during his freshman campaign.
“We lost a few along the way for personal issues,” he said.
Gould, a career .316 hitter at Findlay, was ripping the ball better than ever before.
Through the first 12 games of the season for the 5-7 Oilers, Gould had rapped 18 hits in 43 trips to the plate for a .419 average.
“The biggest thing that changed since last year (when he hit .277) was my mindset that I was going to be a senior leader this year,” said Gould. “I embraced that fact and it helped me feel more confident about my career.
“When you become a senior, you start to realize you only have so many games left,” he said. “That also motivated me.”
The Oilers had only five seniors on their 46-man roster and not one pitcher among them.
“We didn’t have any senior pitchers and our best classes were the freshmen and sophomores,” said Gould. “We knew going into the year we were going to be young, but I felt we could have gotten a lot better as the season progressed.”
Gould looked back on his three-plus seasons as a college baseball player and recalled one of his favorite memories.
“It was probably at the league tournament during my sophomore season,” he said.
The Oilers were playing Walsh University during the Great Midwest Conference tournament at a game played in Mason, Ohio.
The scheduling of the tournament saw Findlay and Walsh play during an elimination game with the first pitch thrown at 10 p.m.
The Oilers had defeated Ohio Valley, 4-3, during another elimination contest earlier in the day.
The nightcap ended at 1:30 a.m. with Walsh winning, 12-10.
Both teams combined for 31 hits in the slugfest.
“I remember I went two-for-three at the plate and drove in a couple of runs,” said Gould. “It was a real hit parade.”
Findlay’s season ended with the early-morning setback.
Walsh, on the other hand, had to return to the diamond at 8 a.m. that morning to face Kentucky Wesleyan during another elimination game.
Walsh dropped that game, 11-5.
Gould has studied physical therapy and needs an additional two years of schooling to obtain his doctorate degree.
Spring sports college athletes will be permitted to return for another season of competition in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gould, though, said he hasn’t decided whether he will play an additional year.
“My coach (Stephen Parrill) asked me if I’d be interested in coming back for another season,” he said. “I think I might try to… I’ll just see how my studies are going.”
“I still have to decide on that.”