Ep 69: 2018 DII Baseball Champs- David Flattery & Clay Collison
10 years. 6 college stops. 1 national title. Worth it? Absolutely.
This week Tim sits down with cousin David Flattery (our second David Flattery on the podcast) and Clay Collison. These two national champions from Augustana University in South Dakota tell their baseball stories that wind from high school, brought them together at Iowa Central, then two different colleges in Nebraska before ending together in a doggy pile.
David and Clay are excellent examples of what it means to be a Moonlighter. They were both willing to do whatever it took to help their team win, culminating in being ready to take the ball at the regional championship and World Series. After successful high school careers at Saint Edmond in Fort Dodge and Algona, David and Clay played together at Iowa Central. David had quite a bit of success for the Tritons as an All Region player. After their time as teammates in Fort Dodge, they both took their talents to Nebraska, David at UN-Omaha and Clay at UN-Kearney before finally ending up as 5th-year seniors together again at Augustana. You won’t want to miss this episode as they share how a coaching change, injuries, and getting cut (twice!) brought them to be teammates on the best pitching staff in Division II baseball.
David and Clay are the first members of a team national championship to visit the podcast and they share what it was like to be members of something so special. In fact, it was so special that the even the NCAA didn’t fully understand it - the map of schools at the World Series had Augustana as being located in Illinois instead of South Dakota.
#Myzewell
“Might as well” became the rallying cry for this team that though they are a northern baseball school, they never felt like underdogs. David and Clay share what it was like to play with the confidence and trust in teammates that allowed them to lose 7 of their last 10 regular season games and not worry about their chances. The chemistry and talent on their team are really impressive and getting to play for the national coach of the year, Tim Huber. David is one of 5 guys from his Augustana team to be playing professional ball now that he has signed with the River City Rascals of the Frontier League.
Take some time this week to listen to David Flattery and Clay Collison share their championship-winning Moonlight stories with Tim.