By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

BREVARD — Cameron “CP” Pyle encountered two white squirrels on Thursday.

That tells you that he’s in Brevard, about the only place in North America that you’re ever going to see one of those special creatures.

White squirrels are rare. So is speed like Pyle’s. That speed is still giving him a chance to play baseball. At the moment, he’s the right fielder for the Brevard College Tornados. He’s started the first six games.

“I found out about five minutes before our first game that I was starting,” Pyle said. “It was like, ‘Well, OK. Here goes.’ I’m getting an opportunity to play. Just trying to make the most of it.”

Brevard was a member of the Division II South Atlantic Conference six years ago, but has made a successful transition to the D-III ranks. In Pyle’s second game for Brevard against Averett, he had three hits and got on base five times.

“Like old times, I guess,” Pyle said with a laugh. “But I  have more power now then I did in high school, and I should hit one out now and then. And my arm is quite a bit stronger than it was back when I was playing in Rowan County.”

Pyle is only 5-foot-7 and maybe 170 pounds, but his wheels made him a football standout at Carson as a running back and safety. He was the quickest player in the program for head coach Joe Pinyan, and then for head coach Daniel Crosby.

Pyle’s speed also put  him in the lineup for baseball coach Chris Cauble’s Carson Cougars as a freshman. Pyle usually played second base and held his own at the plate, batting .294 and scoring 15 runs.

In the summer of 2018, between his freshman and sophomore years at Carson, Pyle became somewhat famous when he excelled for Coach Jim Gantt’s Rowan County American Legion team at a young age. Gantt watched him run and put him in the outfield where his speed could make the biggest difference. He was strong defensively and helped offensively with a .279 batting average and 25 runs scored.

Pyle was on top of the world when he was 15, but baseball can humble you without warning. He slumped at the plate as a sophomore. Cauble stuck with him because of his defense and base-running, but hits were hard to come by. The mysterious slump continued during Pyle’s second American Legion season in the summer of 2019.

“Baseball can be like that,” Pyle said. “There are going to be good days and bad days as a baseball player, and I had a stretch with a lot of bad days. I had some great coaches working with me, but the hits weren’t falling.”

Pyle didn’t shake the slump until 2020 when COVID shut down Carson’s season after a handful of games. COVID also slammed the door on the official American Legion season, although Legion coaches managed to put together a league and played “NC3” baseball.

Fan attendance was severely limited that summer, so not many fans got to witness Pyle getting his swing back.

During those bleak spring and summer days  when Pyle didn’t know whether or not he’d ever play in another baseball game, he vowed that if he ever could get back on a diamond, he was going to make every moment count.

And he did.

He not only made all kinds of circus catches that summer for Rowan NC3, he crushed baseballs like never before. He batted .343 with 24 RBIs. He had a four-RBI game against Mocksville. In a game at Stanly County, he shocked everyone, including himself, by blasting two home runs.

After graduation in 2021, he got a chance to continue his baseball career and education. His former teammate, Cole Hales, was playing at Caldwell Community College in Hudson and recommended Pyle to coach Frank Pait. West Rowan coach Seth Graham also called Pait to recommend Pyle. Pait gave him a chance to play for the Cobras, who had a lot of Rowan County players and won a lot of games during Pyle’s two seasons there.

Pyle was not one of the big stars on that team, just one of the guys who helped. His roommate and best friend for two seasons was one of the stars, West Rowan graduate Steven Smith, who went on to play this season for Emory & Henry.

“I loved Caldwell and loved playing for Coach Pait,” Pyle said. “When things weren’t going great for me at the plate, when it seemed like there was way too much homework, Coach Pait always knew what to say. He could cheer me up. That was a fun team. We got along and we won all together. After practice and games, we went and ate together.”

Pyle continued to play baseball last summer for the Statesville Owls in a wood bat league for college players. One of his teammates was Jack Weaver, a former South Rowan third baseman who had played for Surry Community College and was moving on to Brevard College.

Pyle had thought seriously about enrolling at Appalachian State as a regular student, completing the work for a physical education degree and limiting his baseball to dominating intra-murals, but Weaver talked him into going to Brevard and the rest is history.

“I wouldn’t be playing at Brevard if not for Jack,” Pyle said. “I’m loving it. Playing right field is new for me, but I’m learning. I usually played center field in Legion and I played left field at Caldwell.”

When Pyle first headed off to community college, he was thinking about a business degree, but there’s no doubt in his mind now what he wants to do with his future. He’s had great coaches who stuck with him through tough times and always knew the right thing to say. Now his goal is to become a high school teacher and coach himself.

“Sports have always been so important in my life,” Pyle said. “It would be hard to give it up.”