It was a typical day when St. Clairsville sophomore Riley Carlton attended the Beast of the East showcase on June 30th of this year, however the day ended up anything but typical. Shortly after performing all the routine catcher drills necessary to be graded, the fifteen year old was approached by Gary Staab. Gary, an ex professional baseball player and scout for the Yankees organization and currently the coach of the 19 and under Georgia Eagles, confronted Riley with an opportunity that eventually led him to the AAU National Baseball tournament in Viera, Florida.
The Eagles Skipper found himself in a tough situation, being nearly 600 miles from his home in Atlanta, Georgia and without a catcher due to injury the coach did what he has done for so many years and that’s scout. After evaluating the nearly five dozen catchers that entered the showcase that day he approached Riley about playing with his already talented team for the weekend. With little hesitation the Red Devil catcher accepted the offer and found himself behind the plate the following day catching against the Ohio Warhawks. Over the course of the next two days Riley caught an additional 4 games and landed the Eagles into the playoff round that was slated to begin on Sunday morning at Brooke High School.
While the years of attending camps and catching for many teams prepared him to perform behind the plate, they did not prepare him for what was about to happen. Following the late Saturday game against Kingsville Neal Post, the coach that has mentored 52 major league players including Michael Barrett and Marquis Grissom approached Riley’s father about the young catcher joining the Eagles on the road for an additional 5 tournaments through the months of July and August. Overwhelmed by the situation, they went home to discuss the proposition and decided to accept his offer. The following day after a loss in the second round of the playoffs to Oakville Royals, Riley found himself in a van heading to New York City. While in New York they were able to attend Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty and view the Mets organization.
Following the brief stay in New York the team loaded up the vans and preceded down south to Atlanta for a week of practice before heading off to there next tournament at the University of Troy in Alabama. After the Troy tournament it was back to Atlanta for a few days of practice before heading back to Alabama for a tournament at the oldest ballpark in America, Rickwood Field.
Immediately following the close of the Rickwood tournament it was back into the vans for the last tournament of the summer, the AAU 19u National Tournament at the Washington Nationals Spring Practice Facility in Viera, Florida. While in Viera, the team was able to stay at nearby Cocoa Beach. The four day tournament consisted of teams from all around the United States with many of the players already committed to or playing in Division 1 college programs. Day four found the Eagles competing in the finals of the Gold Round against the Louisiana Warriors. While the outcome was not what they wanted, the team finished with a silver medal and was awarded the Sportsmanship Award.
While the summer stint with the Eagles may be temporally on hold, there are plans to reunite with his teammates in the fall for a weekend tournament in Troy, Alabama.
