Former NSU Demon Star Plays Role of Playoff Hero
Natchitoches, Louisiana is FAR from a major America city. The population is only 17,440. It's home to a small college - Northwestern State University. And while NSU isn't the biggest college in America, they have some pretty noteworthy alumni - especially from the sports world. From Bobby Hebert to Ed Oregeron. Joe Delaney to Kenta Bell.
But, right now, there's one alumni that EVERYONE is talking about. His name is David Fry and he's quickly becoming an MLB Post Season Legend.
From Natchitoches to the Big Leagues
While David Fry isn't exactly Aaron Judge, he is quickly becoming a legend in Cleveland and in the baseball universe. We'll get into that in the a second. But, first, I want to talk about how he got started. And, as mentioned above, the legend of David Fry started in Natchitoches, Louisiana playing for Northwestern State University.
If you don't follow NSU Demons baseball, you missed one heck of a college career from Fry. You can read the full breakdown of his stats here, but below are some of the highlights and school records David Fry set at NSU:
- Tied for most career home runs
- most doubles
- most total bases
- single season record for doubles
- Tied for most doubles in a single games
- Won the team 'Triple Crown' twice in 2017 & 2018
Not too shabby. If you look at the 'personal' section of his NSU bio, it says that his life's ambition is to "play pro ball". Well, guess what? David is playing pro ball and he's playing it at an extremely high level.
David Fry: Playoff Baseball Legend
If you just look at David Fry's playoff stat line, it's probably not going to blow your socks off. He's batting .273 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. Good, but nothing crazy. So, how exactly he is joining the ranks of Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle on the list of Cleveland playoff heroes? Because he has saved their season twice with MASSIVE home runs.
In the Divisional Season against the Tigers, with Cleveland on the brink of elimination, he hit a two-run home run that forced a Game 5 and ultimately extended Cleveland's season and gave them the keep their World Series Dreams alive. You can watch that moment below:
Doing it once, that's one thing. But to do it twice? That's the stuff of legends. And that's exactly what Fry did last night in a critical ALCS Game 3 against the Yankees. There's only been one team in baseball history to go down 3-0 and come back to win in a best of 7 series. That was the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees in 2004.
So, going into a 3-0 hole is basically a death sentence. But David Fry and his bat once again saved Cleveland's season by jacking a MASSIVE 2-run walk-off homer in extra innings. You can watch the magical moment below:
Will this help Cleveland get on a run to the World Series? Only time will tell. But that monster bomb definitely energized the team and the Cleveland crowd. From here on out, anything is possible.
How to Watch David Fry The Rest of the ALCS
This series has been pretty incredible. So, if you haven't been watching, you've been missing out on some great playoff baseball. But, if you want to see how this story ends, there's still plenty of time.
Game 4 will be tonight at 7 PM. Game 5 will be tomorrow night at 7 PM. Game 6, if needed, will be at 4 PM Monday. And Game 7, if needed, will be Tuesday night at 7:30 PM.
David Fry and the Guardians are currently down 2-1 to the Yankees in the Series. But after the game last night, anything is possible. If you want to support the regional sports star and budding Playoff Hero, you can watch all the games on TBS.
LOOK: MLB history from the year you were born
Gallery Credit: Seth Berkman