Oct. 13, 2008

By Chad Jenkins

In the 8th inning of Game 2 of the 2008 ALCS, Tampa Bay switch hitter Ben Zobrist was called on to pinch hit against the Boston Red Sox.

In the very next inning, right hander Justin Masterson was brought out of the Red Sox bullpen to face the Rays.

Zobrist and Masterson have played on the same field before.

In 2003, at tiny NAIA affiliate Bethel College in Mishawaka Indiana, then sophomore Ben Zobrist tripled off the fence to help visiting NAIA school Olivet Nazarene University beat Bethel in the final inning.

The following season, Bethel showcased 6-6 flame-throwing freshman right hander Justin Masterson.

Both players transferred following their respective sophomore seasons—Zobrist from ONU to NAIA’s Dallas Baptist University, and Masterson from Bethel to San Diego State. But their connections don’t end there.

Masterson had been recruited to Bethel by pitching coach Ryan Thompson, who had pitched two seasons for Coach Sam Riggleman at Bethel in the late nineties. Riggleman left Bethel in 2000 for a job at Dallas Baptist, where Zobrist ended up. Thompson left Bethel in 2004 for a coaching position at the Air Force Academy, where his team faced Masterson and San Diego State in a Mountain West Conference game in 2006.

One other former NAIA star just missed this year’s MLB post season: left-handed pitcher Eric Stults, who had a solid season for the 2008 Dodgers (including a complete game shutout of the White Sox). Stults pitched four years at Bethel College. When he was a freshman in 1999, the veteran ace of the pitching staff was Ryan Thompson, and the head coach was Sam Riggleman.