Hampton trio to play Division I baseball next season

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 10, 2019 | 7:57 PM

Usually having one Division I college player can make a team competitive. This year, Hampton baseball is lucky enough to have three.

Outfielder/pitcher Casey Marshalwitz (Youngstown State), catcher Burke Camper (Towson) and infielder Tyler Bischke (Kent State) have all committed to Division I programs.

“We’ve all played ever since the Hampton all-star days, rec leagues. It’s just really easy to connect with them,” said Bischke, who committed in July of his junior year and will major in exercise science. “They’ve been good teammates all through high school.”

It took a bit of growing up for Bischke to get noticed. He stood at 5-foot-8 before sprouting up three inches. Opinions changed at an AAU game, where recruiters happened to be scouting a pitcher.

“I wasn’t getting a lot of looks initially,” said Bischke, whose father Scott, his biggest influence, played baseball at South Dakota “I was kind of the overlooked, short guy.”

Bischke entertained offers from Youngstown State and Delaware before springing for Kent State.

“They took me around the campus, and it was beautiful,” he said. “It has a little town surrounding it. I love coach (Jeff) Duncan, he was awesome. All the coaches are really relatable and are all about baseball.”

Under Duncan, the Golden Flashes have compiled a record of 187-93 with two NCAA Regional Tournament appearances, three East Division Championships and one overall Mid-American Conference Championship.

Youngstown State offered Marshalwitz, but gave him a stipulation he couldn’t refuse — the opportunity to be a two-way player. He committed last August.

An emerging pitcher in the WPIAL with an 88 mph fastball, other colleges such as Towson and Grove City were interested. However, Marshalwitz was also an All-WPIAL outfielder last season, finishing second in the team in doubles with 21.

“It’s pretty close to home and they gave me a really good offer,” he said. “I want to be a two-way player, pitch and play outfield and hit, they said it’s a high possibility. Other schools just wanted me to be a pitcher.”

Burke Camper has been enamored with the catcher position for quite some time, and last December, the All-WPIAL selection committed to Towson.

“What got me into catching was honestly seeing the guy with the cool gear on,” he said. “Then it became more than just the gear. I like taking responsibility, the leadership qualities, the baseball you have to have. … It really stuck with me.”

Camper called the recruiting process “long and strenuous,” but appreciated the experience.

“It really brought a lot of opportunity to travel,” he said. “I’ve been to so many colleges, from Florida to Tennessee to Arizona to Oregon. Just playing on some amazing college fields and meeting amazing coaches. The process gave me an opportunity to see the world in a different kind of way.”

All three play year-round on club teams. Marshalwitz has played for DBat Elite, coached by Eric Crozier, and West Hills Baseball, coached by Jason Malatak, while Camper has played at Steel City Select, and Bischke played for Diamond Dogs.

Additionally, each cites their family as a major influence. Camper referred to attending and watching Pirates games as “family time.”

“For me, West Hills, we would practice Saturday and Sunday and a couple times during the week,” Marshalwitz said. “Jason would do a lot of drills in the outfield. My dad and I, he would hit me fly balls, and we’d practice outfield.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hampton