ZooKeepers finish season with positives

By Bob Sutton North State Journal

ASHEBORO — The good times for the Asheboro ZooKeepers mostly came late in the season for the collegiate summer baseball team.

The ZooKeepers finished with a 20-24 record in the Coastal Plain League, winning just two of their last six games. Their 12-11 mark in the second half was the sec - ond-best record in the West Division.

That was an improvement from 2022, when Asheboro’s 14-33 overall record was the worst in the CPL.

The leading batter for the ZooKeepers was second baseman Cole Laskowski at .290 among players with enough plate appearances to qualify on the official league list.

Todd Hudson and Jared Beebe were tops for Asheboro in home runs with six apiece. Beebe led the team in runs batted in with 39, and Hudson was next with 27. page B3

Tyler McPeak had a team-leading nine doubles despite not playing for nearly three weeks to end the season.

Pitcher Daniel Thompson posted a 2.05 earned run average in nine outings, including five starts. Jacob Halford had the most pitching victories as he racked up a 5-1 record.

First-year general manager Melissa Godwin said pitching depth became a shortcoming for the team. That was particularly evident late in the season.