Colony catcher grabs chance to play college baseball

WASILLA — For the past few years, Kody Ziter watched as his friend, Mike Dotson, came home each summer from college, where he played baseball at Southwestern Oregon Community College.

Each year Dotson, a former Palmer High standout, would return, he’d be better on the diamond than the year before. Now, Ziter is hoping for something similar.

Late last week, the Colony senior catcher signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at SOCC.

“Every year I saw how much (Mike) improved from the coaching at the school,” Ziter said.

Ziter received offers from Doane College in Crete, Neb., and Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio, but SOCC proved to be the right fit. Ziter had the chance to visit the school in Coos Bay, Ore., in mid-February. Ziter saw the campus and met the coaches and players. He liked what he saw during his trip to the school, which sits along the Oregon coast. But Dotson became Ziter’s proof of what kind of impact SOCC can have on a product of the Mat-Su Valley.

“He was raw, now he’s a refined player,” Ziter said of Dotson, a former teammate on the Wasilla-based Alaska Road Warriors American Legion team. “He redshirted, and after two years, he’s a draft prospect.”

Ziter is expected to catch for the Wolves, a junior college team that competes in the NWAACC. Ziter will be a backstop in the college ranks after spending only four years behind the plate.

Ziter, who also played outfield and pitched while he was with the Road Warriors program, started catching as a freshman at Colony.

“Coach Mayo said, ‘you look like a catcher,’” Ziter said. “I never played that position before, but I tried. It took a little to get used to, but now I feel out of place when I’m any other place.”

The opportunity to be a part of the action all of the time is what appeals to Ziter.

“I like having the whole game in front of me,” Ziter said. “You’re in control of the game, you know what’s going to happen. You don’t have that control from the outfield.”

The opportunity to play in an elite summer league in Washington also proved to be key in Ziter’s journey toward the college diamond, he said. Ziter played for the Triple Play Hornets in Tacoma, Wash., last summer.

“It was good, definitely an eye-opener,” Ziter said. “You see so much more talent (there), it makes you realize how much harder you need to work. An average player down in the states is a standout in Alaska.”

This summer Ziter will play for the Northwest Crush in Puyallup, Wash.

Ziter said he started seriously striving for the shot to play college baseball as a freshman with the Knights program. Ziter said a number of people helped make his goal a reality.

“I want to thank my parents for always supporting me and being there. They are the biggest fans and I could not have done it without them,” Ziter said. “I also want to thank my sister. She has been going to all of my games, even when she didn’t always want to.”

Ziter also credited Mayo and his teammates.

“I owe so much to coach Mayo,” Ziter said. “I consider myself lucky to have played for him. I could not have asked for a better coach.”

Ziter also praised the impact of close friends, Colony teammate Colter Peterson and his girlfriend Jennifer.

For now, Ziter is concentrating on his time at SOCC, but he hopes to continue his baseball career after he leaves the junior college.

“I’d love to get to the level after that,” Ziter said. “When I set goals I see what’s in front of me and work from there.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.