University of North Carolina Athletics
Summer Ball Dispatches: J.B. Bukauskas
August 5, 2016 | Baseball
Editor's note: J.B Bukauskas finished his summer with the Collegiate National Team last month with a series win in Cuba. For the summer, Bukauskas posted a 0.00 ERA in 21.2 innings of work. He allowed just seven hits and one unearned run, striking out 21 and walking just three.
Hello again Tar Heel fans,
I wrote a letter earlier this summer giving details about how the summer had been going to that point. I figured I would add a follow up to that letter given the summer ended up proving to be huge not only for me but for everyone else involved in our program.
First, I would like to say thank you to Scott Jackson and Bryant Gaines. Both have been major parts of the coaching staff since my time at Carolina and it will be very different not see both of them around the stadium anymore. Coach Jackson was the first person at UNC baseball to ever show interest in me as a player and I could not be more appreciative of him for all that he has done for me, my baseball career, and the UNC baseball program. Coach Gaines will go down as one of my favorite coaches. He related to the pitchers and all of the players so well and is so knowledgeable about the game. Both coaches had a huge impact on me as a person and a player and will be missed but everyone in our program knows that they will accomplish great things at Liberty University.
I would also like to add that I am extremely excited to work with our two new coaches Robert Woodard and Jesse Wierzbicki. I have heard nothing but high praise of Coach Woodard and I am very excited to see that Coach Wierzbicki is coming back to be a full-time coach after being an undergraduate assistant a year ago.
Now to wrap up summer ball. Being overseas for the majority of the summer, I was not able to keep up with how well all of my teammates were doing. It was no surprise to me that when I arrived home in the United States, all I was seeing was how well my teammates had done this summer for their respective summer ball teams. I know that spells good things for our upcoming 2017 baseball season!
The conclusion of my tour with the Collegiate National Team was memorable to say the least. Getting so close to pulling out a series victory in Japan that had not been done for over 40 years would have been unbelievably special. However our trip to Asia was still unforgettable and I am so happy that I got to experience how that region of the world plays baseball. Our last stop on the tour was in Cuba and it will stick with me for the rest of my life. It was not simply memorable because we accomplished being the first USA team to win a series in Cuba. We got to see how people in certain parts of the world live and it was truly an eye-opening experience - not only to see how beautiful their country is but it also put into perspective how nice we have things in Chapel Hill and in the United States.
This summer was a whirlwind with all of the different things that were going on at once. I am glad to be back in the United States and getting ready to head back to Chapel Hill. This was an unforgettable summer but I am more than ready to get back and see all of my Tar Heel teammates and everyone else that is a part of the UNC baseball program!
Go Heels!
