By Dennis Garcia
General Manager
ASHEBORO – During the Asheboro Copperheads’ 22-year history in the Coastal Plain League, the team has signed players from all over the country. But one school the Copperheads return to year after year has been Penn University.
Penn has provided the Copperheads with extremely talented players and the Copperheads are hoping the Quakers have done just that once again with the signing of pitcher-infielder Carson Ozmer, infielder Drew Rogers, outfielder Seth Werchan and relief pitcher Danny Heintz, who returns for a second season with Asheboro.
Last summer, Penn’s Wyatt Henseler and Andrew Hernandez were two of the top players for the Copperheads and past Penn players have included Josh Hood, Joe Miller, Ryan Mincher and Sean Phelan.
“We are excited to welcome back four more solid players from Penn for the 2022 summer season,” General Manager and Head Coach Jeremy Knight said. “Penn has always taken very good care of us and has sent some top-notch talent to Asheboro. Last season, we had two of the top hitters in the league for much of the season with Wyatt Henseler and Andrew Hernandez. Following our season, Danny Heintz was called up to the Cape Cod League, where he was able to throw an outing.”
Heintz, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound right-hander from Morrisville, was 1-0 last summer in 12 appearances for the Copperheads. He fanned 35 batters in 21 innings. In his only appearance in the Cape with Harwich, he threw 3 ⅓ innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit.
“He continued to work to get better,” Knight said. “The summer didn’t start out the way he wanted it to, but he and Andrew would spend extra time working on mechanics and working on throwing strikes. That showed when he struck out seven out of nine batters in one of his final outings.”
Heintz said he’s excited to return to Asheboro.
“It’s going to be nice knowing how everything works,” Heintz said. “I know Jeremy and how he operates and that makes things a little more comfortable.”
Werchan, a 6-2, 210-pound left-handed hitting outfielder from Texas, saw plenty of action last year during the shortened season for the Quakers. He appeared in 13 games and made 11 starts in the outfield, hitting .231. He had three multi-hit games and had a team-high two triples. He also had four stolen bases.
He spent the 2021 summer with the Pittsfield Suns of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League in New England, hitting .225.
Rogers is a sophomore from Westport, Conn., who appeared in three games last year for the Quakers. At 6-2 and 185, he can play most infield positions and pitch.
Ozmer, a 6-2, 200-pound right-handed throwing sophomore, pitched just ⅓ of an inning last season, but is expected to come out of the bullpen for the Quakers this upcoming season. He could also play infield.
“This year we bring in four more guys from Penn that we are looking forward to having a great summer,” Knight said.