Curtiss Bunch and Riley Price made a difference in their two years on Allen County Community College’s baseball team. Their efforts for the Red Devils paid off recently for both.
Bunch and Price signed letters of intent to play in four-year college baseball programs. Bunch is off to Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., and Price is going to Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Ark.
Bunch, a sophomore from La Plata, Mo., has been the Red Devils’ third baseman the past two years. He found the NCAA Division I baseball program he wanted to play for and is excited about playing in “the same conference as Wichita State.”
That would be the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Not only do they have a really good baseball program but they are in the top 10 in academics for medical and engineering fields,” Bunch said.
“I’m in pre-med right now but I really like math so engineering could be a way I go also.”
Bunch hit .279 this season with 43 hits. He had 12 doubles, two triples and two home runs. Bunch’s 32 RBIs were third on the team. He drew 16 walks.
In the field, Bunch was charged with seven errors in the Red Devils’ 46 game-schedule. He had 70 assists and 26 putouts with a fielding percentage of .932.
“Playing here at Allen helped me improve my game a lot, both hitting and defensively,” Bunch said. “Coach (Val) McLean and Coach (Seth) Beason really helped me become a better ballplayer and student.”
He is the son of Danny and Becky Bunch of La Plata, Mo.
“Both Curtiss and Riley found programs where they will fit in well,” said McLean, ACCC head baseball coach. “We expect both to do a good job for their new teams at the next level.”
Price has been at second base for two years for the Red Devils. He said signing with Southern Arkansas was great for him.
“It is one of the top (NCAA) Division II baseball programs in the nation. I’ve always dreamed of playing baseball in the south,” Price said.
“The experience I gained by playing two years here at Allen is going to help me at the next level.”
Price hit .401 this season, which was third among ACCC starters. He had 57 hits, which included six doubles and one home run. He drove in 31 runs.
Defensively, he committed 13 errors this season with a .904 fielding average. He was involved in nine double plays and had 84 assists.
He is the son of Thomas Price and Jeanie Hutcheson of Berryton. He said he wanted to coach and expected to pursue a degree in health education at SAU.
ACCC’s Bunch, Price sign at four-year colleges
