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Shore senior Carlin’s journey in fast pitch culminates with gold

By HENRY HUBER 5 min read

In the usual scenario, a person's first trip outside their home country comes by way of vacation. For Jersey Shore senior Ian Carlin, it was a bit of a different ball game.

At the end of August, he and the U-18 USA Fast Pitch team travelled to Colombia to compete in the 2023 Pan American Games, with the third-best odds to take the title based on its No. 5 ranking and a chance to compete in the U-18 Men's World Cup if it was to do so.

A November trip to Mexico was certainly a possibility. But winning the event was easier said than done, especially considering the USA hadn't claimed a gold medal in men's fastpitch since 1985. Carlin was realistic about their chances heading into the event, believing they could make a run but also being wary of the tourney's other top teams.

"I was confident that we would probably place," said Carlin. "We have a really good team, so I was confident that we would place."

The journey to Colombia didn't begin at the State College airport, or when the team booked the flight. It didn't even begin when Carlin was first invited to join the team in April of 2021.

His baseball journey began in Jersey Shore. Like most 2- or 3-year-olds, Carlin played T-Ball, with his grandpa fueling his passion for the sport once he grew out of it.

"I spent a lot of time with him since my mom and dad worked," said Carlin. "He'd always be out in the backyard, just throwing wiffle balls at me. I spent a lot of time with my pap, just hitting balls. I've always been hitting."

Fast pitch - a form of softball - didn’t fully come into view until he was 14. While watching an event in Jersey Shore, one of the teams needed an extra player and asked if he could play.

The rest was history.

"I ran to my house and had to go get all my stuff. I didn't even have anything for softball, so I just put on my baseball stuff," said Carlin. "I did pretty well that game and Billy Fisher asked me to start playing on their league team."

"Then, I started getting pretty good at it. I started getting recognized."

League competition around the area quickly transitioned into travelling across the country to play in nationwide tournaments. He credits his current league coach Mike Funk and other league players with mentoring and motivating him to where he is today and getting him more exposed to the sport through these events.

The team, then known as MPC and now known as Rose Birds, would participate in tournaments in cross-country areas like Elkland and Las Vegas. The latter tournament, called Road Trip, was the one that resonated the most with the Jersey Shore baseball player in terms of inspiring him to continue to improve.

"Whenever we went to Vegas, I actually saw real competition and really good guys playing. I wanted to be like those top guys," said Carlin on his experience at Road Trip. "From there, I trained really hard and worked every second I could."

Amidst league play, Carlin's name was placed into the USA Softball athlete pool for the national youth team. A successful stint at his first training camp in Oklahoma - where the USA Softball Complex is located - led to an invitation to go back for a second round.

Through those training camps in Oklahoma and another in Florida - where he got to play at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex - he proved he had what it took to represent the country in fastball as the team's first baseman.

From acclimation to the heat in Florida, a long trip away from home, a booked training schedule and consistent experience practicing against considerable fastball talent, Carlin and the USA team got exposed to all the right things in pursuit of a Pan American title in Colombia.

Facing the heat of one of the closest countries to the equator, the best young talent in the world and historic weight of having not earned a gold medal in over 35 years, USA went 4-1 amidst a pool-play schedule that featured the No. 1 team in Argentina, No. 4 Canada, No. 8 Venezuela, No. 24 Colombia and No. 28 Peru.

"We beat No. 1 ranked Argentina in one of our last games," said Carlin. "We knew we had a pretty good chance of winning it from there. We were really confident going into the (championship) game."

A rematch with Venezuela in the championship ended in a 6-1 victory for USA, as the Eagles took home a gold medal and bid to play in the World Cup in November. For a team that's placed as the tournament's runner-up on numerous occasions throughout the event's history, the run was certainly meaningful.

Carlin's first trip out of the country was unforgettable, playing in front of crowds packed with passionate fans, winning a championship with his team, getting asked for autographs and even being asked to hold a baby for a picture at one point. The second one should offer the same level of magic, as they prepare for their next goal in winning the World Cup.

"The atmosphere in Colombia was really cool to play in front of. It was always filled, especially for the night-time games when all the people there got off work," said Carlin on the experience. "It's crazy. It was crazy. It was amazing."

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