School’s out for summer, but former Allan Hancock College catcher Corey Dotzler is as busy as ever.
Within two weeks of graduating from Hancock, Dotzler found out he’d been awarded a baseball scholarship to Cal Poly, SLO, and began playing for the semipro Santa Maria Packers.
He was immediately a hit with his new team, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and throwing out two base runners in the Packers’ 3-0 opening day victory over the San Luis Obispo Blues.
“Catching-wise, I’m just hoping to get the pitcher’s confidence up and help keep them in a zone,” Dotzler said. “I want to help them out with the bat and drive in some runs.”
On the Packers, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Dotzler reunites with his old Lompoc High School coach Jim Allen, and head coach Scott Nickason, who coached him in a high school fall league.
Nickason said Dotzler was one of his first choices when he put together this season’s Packers.
“I’ve known Corey since he was a junior, and I’ve watched him grow,” Nickason said. “He’s a quality player, but not just that, he’s one of those great quality kids outside of baseball as well.”
Nickason also praised Dotzler for his catch-and-throw ability, strong arm, and gap-to-gap hitting power—and said the Packers will depend on his bat to drive in runs this year.
For Hancock, Dotzler hit .311 and led the team with four homeruns and 15 doubles during the 2009 season. He was also second on the team with 35 RBIs.
Dotzler, who played on the Santa Maria Indians last summer, said he’s adjusting well to his new teammates and a higher level of competition.
“The pace is quicker, and it goes by a lot faster,” Dotzler said. “You don’t have guys kicking the ball around and making all the errors that junior college players do. It’s definitely a step up.”
He’ll split time at third base and catcher next season for Cal Poly, but right now he’s focused on helping the Packers to a successful summer campaign.
“We have a lot of guys from out of state,” Dotzler said. “Hopefully we can put up some good numbers, win some games, and go somewhere off of that.”
This article appears in Jun 11-18, 2009.