Thurs., July 2, 2009

   University of Saint Francis graduate Mickey Cassidy made the most of his first opportunity in professional baseball recently.

   Cassidy, who helped USF to its best record ever in 2009, signed with the Bay Area Toros in Texas City, Texas near Galveston, Texas. He made his first appearance on the mound in relief against the Coastal Kingfish. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, yielded two hits, fanned one and didn't allow an earned run in the Toros' win. Cassidy got the win since the Toros starter only pitched 4 1/3 innings. The Toros play in the Continental Baseball League.

  "I took over in the fifth with one out and runners at second and third," Cassidy recalled. "I got the first batter I faced to pop out to second and the next guy to ground to first. I took the throw from our first basebaman to get the third out.

   "The only other thing i remember is taking deep breaths before coming in and trying to stick with a similar routine as i did at USF," Cassidy continued. "Baseball is baseball, no matter what state you're in. The guys are tougher to get out, a little bigger, faster and stronger, but at the end of the day, it still comes down to throwing strikes and keeping batters off balance. The coaches were very pleased with my outing and we won all 4 in the series against the Coastal Kingfish. It puts us 1 game out of first place with a series this weekend versus the Texarkana Gunslingers."

   Cassidy said the hardest part is getting used to the heat.

   "It's over 100 every day, but I'm having a great time playing ball," Cassidy said.

   Cassidy, a native of Toledo, Ohio, said the team is not affiliated with a major-league organization, but that scouts attend nearly every game.

   Here is a link to the Toros' website:

www.bayareatoros.com