Double Hitter: Seniors Scotty Fegen and Anthony Mazza are both committed to Hutchinson Community College to play baseball

Then seventh-grader Anthony Mazza arrived for yet another baseball team tryout. He’d been to numerous tryouts, playing the sport since his dad pushed a ball into his hand But this one was different. He got into his pitching stance. Wound up. And released the ball— right into Scotty Fegen’s spine. 

But even after nailing the coach’s kid right in the back during tryouts, Mazza still made the Minsky’s Orioles.

Six teams later, now-seniors Mazza and Fegen are still on the field together — with a few less hits to the back. They have been on and off together on teams ever since that seventh-grade tryout, but have always found their way back to the same teams. 

They began to build a friendship on and off the field during their sophomore year at East while on the Varsity team together. Outside of practice or games the two maintained their close relationship, grabbing McDonald’s or simply going to the nearest park, like Meadowbrook, late at night.

“We go hit together or hang out pretty much everyday,” Mazza said. “We rarely have fights or anything, we get along really well and I don’t think that’ll change.”

But, as their senior year approached the two prepared to lose both a teammate and a friend. But luckily for the duo, they don’t have to face it quite yet.

Mazza and Fegen both committed to Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas over the summer to continue their baseball careers and they plan on rooming together

“We received our offers at the same time, then I was the first one to commit,” Fegen said. “So I wasn’t sure if he was coming yet but I was always very hopeful. Then about two weeks after I committed, he committed [too].”

However, Hutchinson wasn’t always the plan for Mazza. Originally, he committed to Tarleton State University in November of 2022 but after their coaching staff changed he decommitted in June.

“My choices were down to a couple of [Division 1 schools] and a couple junior colleges,” Mazza said. “[Fegen] committed, which obviously helps because it’s not a huge deal, but it helps if I go there and have someone I know, especially someone I could room with like [Fegen]”

Hutchinson was Fegen’s top pick since it met two of his main priorities — a relationship with the coaches and an environment he feels welcomed in.

“I just felt like I was wanted there,” Fegen said. “It was somewhere I could succeed and better myself. It was always really clear that it was a priority of theirs to land me and they were always available to talk and make sure that I was comfortable with the whole process.”

The two want to play in the professional leagues one day, planning to go to a D1 school after Hutchinson in hopes of getting drafted. For baseball, going straight to D1 out of highschool you run a high risk of getting little play time — one of the reasons why just 2% of highschool baseball players go D1 straight out of highschool. This makes for many to go to a Junior College and eventually try to transfer into a D1.

While Mazza keeps his hopes high of getting drafted out of Hutchinson, he plans to head to a D1 school after Hutchinson.

For Fegen, he will likely end up putting his baseball career first. While he isn’t as passionate about getting drafted as Mazza, he’s interested in seeing where his talent can lead him, while keeping the professionals still in mind.

While the two are good friends off the turf, their relationship truly thrives on their mutual love of the sport. Fegen noted Mazza’s unwavering confidence, describing him as someone who never cares what anyone thinks when he’s on the field.

Senior Will Conkright — teammate and friend of Fegen and Mazza — says the two are constantly pushing each other on the field. Mazza noted how they both share the same goals and are passionate about winning as well as always wanting to see the other succeed.

“They have a good balance of being good teammates and sort of role models to each other and then also being good friends on top of that,” Conkright said.

According to Conkright, the two constantly joke around off the field, but immediately become serious when they put their cleats on.

“They’re both very uplifting,” Conkright said. “And even when we might be losing or things might not be going the way we want, both continue to play their hardest, [that energy’s] fun to play with.”

While the two don’t see themselves drifting apart in college, they may find themselves growing closer to people in their same position. However since they are rooming together, they’ll stay close — both literally and figuratively.