St. Charles East grad Reynolds enjoys successful first year in pro baseball

Believe it or not, this will be my final column of the summer.

Yes, calendar lovers, Sunday marks the official autumnal equinox.

In simpler terms, fall is literally right around the corner.

While the Chicago Cubs would prefer the season linger just a little longer than usual this year, the summer of 2007 is on life support.

Leaves have already begun to change colors in some area locales, night-time temperatures are getting a little lower, and football fans across America are looking ahead to the next weekend of action.

But there's still time to look back at the summer happenings -- and no one enjoyed a more memorable summer than Matt Reynolds.

His college baseball team, Austin Peay State University, won the regular-season conference championship.

His collegiate team also captured the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title -- and he was named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Things just continued to get better this past June, as the 2003 St. Charles East graduate was one of four Austin Peay players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Reynolds, who was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 20th round as the 612th pick, capped off his summer last month by helping lead the Tri-City Dust Devils -- the Rockies' short-season Class A minor league affiliate -- to the Northwest League playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

"It has been an unbelievable summer," admitted Reynolds earlier this week from his parents' home in Knoxville, Tenn. "I had a great time at school and we won conference and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. And then I got drafted by the Rockies."

At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, it shouldn't come as a real shock that Reynolds was looked upon as a potential Major League pitcher by the Rockies.

Being a left-hander armed with a 90-mph fastball doesn't hurt, either.

"I kind of expected to be playing baseball somewhere this summer," said Reynolds, who pitched 8 ½ innings of 4-hit baseball with 7 strikeouts during Austin Peay's 2-1 conference tournament semifinal victory over Jacksonville State in late May.

"When I got the call (from the Rockies), it was pure joy. A couple rounds before they selected me, one of their scouts called and told me they were thinking of taking me. I immediately went to the Internet and started watching the draft."

Ironically, Reynolds never saw his name appear during the selection process.

"After I saw a kid from another team in our conference get selected (three picks before Reynolds was taken), I turned off the computer and went downstairs. A few minutes later, the phone rang and it was the Rockies."

While Reynolds enjoyed a successful high school career, playing as a pitcher/first baseman for coach Len Asquini on the Saints' 2002 state quarterfinal team as a junior (4-3 record and .407 batting average with 22 RBI), he didn't attract a great deal of attention from collegiate recruiters.

While his family moved to Wisconsin, Reynolds decided to attend Kishwaukee Junior College, where he spent two years as a pitcher/first baseman.

He received his "big break" between his freshman and sophomore year during the summer of 2004.

"My dad had just gotten a new job and the family moved to Knoxville," Reynolds recalled. "I was playing summer league ball in Knoxville and wound up getting recruited by one of the coaches from Austin Peay. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time."

Despite his lofty 10-3 record and 3.26 ERA this past season, Reynolds was a notable omission when the Ohio Valley Conference coaches selected their all-conference team.

"One of my teammates, Shawn Kelley, was chosen as the conference's Pitcher of the Year," said Reynolds. "Maybe that's why I didn't make all-conference."

The all-conference snub didn't keep the southpaw down too long, as the semifinal gem turned in against Jacksonville State helped him earn conference tournament MVP honors.

"That was one of the best games I pitched all year," said Reynolds, "and it came against an all-conference pitcher who had beaten me earlier in the season."

Reynolds, who made his professional debut with 1 ¿ scoreless innings of relief against Everett Aug. 3, finished the summer with a 1-4 mark and 3.60 ERA for the Dust Devils (Pasco, Wash.). In 35 innings, the reliever walked just 4 while striking out 27.

An admitted "late bloomer," Reynolds hasn't forgotten his St. Charles roots.

"I'm still good buddies with Ryan Jensen, Richard Peel, R.J. Weiss," said Reynolds. "We try to get together once a year."