Former Mounties pitchers becoming Cowboys
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
BY JIM HALL Sports Writer jim @ nwanews. com Two former Rogers Mountaineer pitchers now playing at Crowder College - and began their baseball careers playing youth ball here - will sign NCAA letters of intent this fall to play for Oklahoma State University. Daniel Golden and Don Lisi, both 2007 Rogers High grads, will sign during the NCAA's early signing period in November. "From Mounties to Roughriders to Cowboys," Golden said Monday with a laugh. "It's kind of a reporter's dream story, isn't it ? Little League through high school, college and now we're going to a great program at a Division I school. "Both termed the offer a milestone and said hard work led them to the opportunity. "You work on your game everyday," Golden said.
Added Lisi: "Coach (Greg ) Evans came to our first intrasquad game. He really liked what he saw, I guess. We were on and off the phone with him for about a week. He made an offer. Dan and I made a trip down to Stillwater, had a visit.
"I really like the situation down there. They liked how we threw. About three days later, we decided this was the perfect situation."
Greg Evans is in his sixth season as an assistant coach at OSU to head coach Frank Anderson. Evans works as recruiting coordinator and coach of the OSU defense.
"This is the culmination of all that hard work," Lisi said. "Even though I've committed, the task ahead is to get to the junior college world series. The job's not over yet. Still got my sophomore year. I've got a lot more work ahead of me."
Crowder was 35-28 overall in 2008 and 19-9 as Region 16 champions. It lost at a district tournament in Warner, Okla.
Lisi, who went 8-4 in 2008, was named to the NJCAAAll-Region 16 Team.
"This is what you work all your life for, the opportunity," said Golden, who went 4-6 in 2008. "I'm sure natural ability comes into it but without the hard work part you're not going to get anywhere."
He says he's never worked harder since he has been at Crowder and said he was surprised at the offer.
OSU went 44-18 in 2008 and recorded its third-consecutive 40-win season. The Cowboys were ranked 17 th in the final national polls.
Lisi played this summer for the Liberal, Kan., BeeJays in the Jayhawk League of the National Baseball Congress (NBC ). He was named to the 2008 All-American Team with a 6-1 record. His team finished fourth in the NBC World Series in August.
He played for former Major League Baseball manager Mike Hargrove, who managed at Cleveland from 1991-99, at Baltimore from 2000-2003 and at Seattle from 2005-07.
"It doesn't get any better than playing for a major league manager," Lisi said. "I've worked my tail off for this."
They are two of three former Mounties playing at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. The other is freshman shortstop Grant Wise, a 2008 grad. Crowder sophomores Matt Sample from Pea Ridge and Trent Wise from Bentonville will also pitch this year.
Lisi was twice named to the 7 A-West All-Conference team and an All-State Tournament selection his junior year. He was All-State his senior year.
He finished his high school senior season with a 2. 19 ERA. He led the team in innings pitched (64 ), starts (13 ), complete games (5 ) and strikeouts (74 ). He also pitched in the 2007 Arkansas All-Star Baseball game.
Golden shattered the Mounties'career strikeout record, finishing his three-year career with 196 strikeouts, eclipsing the record set by Derek Armstrong at 154 in 2000-02. Golden had a 6-1 record and a 2. 18 ERA in 45 innings his senior season.
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