One of the best pitchers in the Ozarks turned in his hockey pads for more time on the diamond.
“Baseball became my love,” said Ozark junior Cooper Pumphrey. “I’ve always had love for it, but it was shared between hockey and baseball. This past year or two I really have fallen in love with baseball.”
The 6-foot-6-inch pitcher spent his first two years of high school at a prep academy in Indiana playing both sports. But he wanted to get back to his roots and fulfill his childhood dream of playing for the Tigers.
“When he comes to the field every day there is a smile on his face,” said Ozark Head Coach Justin Sundlie. “He’s looking forward to it. It’s not like ‘alright I need to get better’ it’s ‘I’m hanging out with my friends’. He feels a great camaraderie with these guys, I think they appreciate that about him too for sure.”
While Cooper is known best for his arm on the mound, he makes a conscious effort to be the best teammate in the dugout.
“After I come out of a game that is still my game,” Cooper said. “They are either cleaning up my mess or finishing the game I started. So, being able to go into the dugout after I throw an inning and still cheer on my team, kind of be the first guy out of the dugout. Helping people up and maybe if they strike out be like ‘hey you got it, what did you see?’ and relaying that to the dugout. Just being a part of the team.”
The first Tiger out of the dugout and the first to show up to the field according to Ozark’s skipper.
“He just doesn’t cut corners,” Sundlie said. “Nobody outworks him in the weight room. He is very disciplined. He kind of is a student of the game as well.”
Cooper will forever be a tiger as he is committed to Mizzou.
A big-time program for a guy proving he’s a big-game pitcher with an early-season win over Kickapoo.
“You know they are going to be anxious to get after him because [of] who he is and they know his name,” Sundlie said. “For him to handle that environment impressed me. There’s obviously more than just pitching. Being in control, feeling like you are in control in those situations and he did that.”
There’s still plenty of time for Cooper to impress, playing a sport he loves in the place he’s always called home.
