Scottsbluff's Tharyn Curtis commits to playing baseball at WNCC

                 Scottsbluff’s Tharyn Curtis has attended Western Nebraska Community College’s summer baseball camps since he was a youngster and now he will have Mike Jones as a coach beginning in the fall after committing to play for the Cougars.

                Curtis, who turned 17 in September, said he is ready to improve his baseball skills when he joins the Cougar team in August.

                “This was one of my first choices because I have worked with Coach Jones pretty much since I was little,” he said. “I have always felt comfortable with him as a coach. He has taught me pretty much everything. One of the big things of going here is because I can stay close to home and close to family.”

                What drives Curtis to be successful on the field is his commitment to fundamentals. That also is one area that Jones loves about Curtis’ passion for baseball.

                “I am really fundamental. I do the little things right and I practice until I get them right,” Curtis said. “A lot of players really do fundamentals; they just go for the big hits or just do things that people will notice instead of the little things. Learning fundamentals, to me, is one of the important things because without fundamentals you really can’t play. “

                Jones is excited to make Curtis an even better baseball player.

                “What we always saw in him [at camps] is just his work ethic which has always been so good,” he said. “He has always been committed and dedicated to it [working on his fundamentals]. He always shows up and listens well. We are looking forward to working with him because he is still young for his age. There is a lot of growth and development that will happen to him over the next few years. We will see what happens, but we know the work ethic and dedication is there. “

                Jones is expecting Curtis to play the outfield and said he still has plenty of room to get bigger and better.

                “I don’t usually run across a guy this young that is graduating from high school,” he said. “For us there is that strength that needs to be added, that build-up that needs to come along as you get a little bit older. I am anxious to see what happens to him as he starts to mature and gets more physical. He already has the fundamentals down; now we just have to take it another step.”

                For now, though, Curtis still has summer ball with the WESTCO Zephyrs and it will be his first full-time playing with the Senior American Legion baseball team. The Scottsbluff senior has played three seasons with the Express, the junior affiliate. Last season Curtis said he played a few games with the Zephyrs but is looking forward to the next two seasons playing for the Zephyrs.

                Curtis had an outstanding season on the Express last season, where he led the team in batting average (.468) with 10 doubles, eight triples and a home run. Curtis had 29 RBIs and 44 runs scored. On the mound, Curtis finished with a 2-3 record with one save. He had an earned run average of 5.61 with 21 strikeouts.

                Curtis said his goal right now is just to get better.

                “I just want to do better than last year from batting average to everything,” he said. “I am ready. to play with the Zephyrs. Last summer I played some games with them like when we went Chappell and Chadron and played some outfield with them.”

                The Zephyrs season will open May 6 when they face Cheyenne followed by a contest with Rapid City on May 12, both on the road.

                Curtis, who plans to major in engineering, will join two other local graduates on next year’s team. Gering’s Zach Smith and Nate Marquez elected to play for the Cougars last month. Coach Jones also has signed a couple of other area baseball players for next year in North Platte’s Trevor Johnson and Wheatland’s Anthony Apadaca.