LCMR standout to play Division II college baseball

Posted: August 21st 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Evan Shoffler put together one of the best offensive seasons in the recent history of the Lower Cape May Regional High School baseball program.

Not surprisingly, those efforts, coupled with some solid performances in baseball settings outside of his high school team, placed Shoffler on the radar of college programs across the region.

Now, just ahead of the start of his senior year, Shoffler has been able to make his college choice.

The shortstop and pitcher for the Caper Tigers recently announced via social media that he has accepted an offer to play for Division II Shippensburg University in south-central Pennsylvania.

EVAN SHOFFLER

He chose Shippensburg over Millersville, West Chester and Elizabethtown.

“I went and watched a game there and I liked how they played,” Shoffler said of Shippensburg. “They played with a lot of energy. Then I went to their prospect camp and I did really well and the coaches showed some interest.”

Shoffler later played in a tournament at Shippensburg with his travel team and was invited to tour the campus and the baseball facilities, which included a turf field and new locker room that were opened for the first time in 2022.

“The coaches talked a lot about how they like to develop high school players and not just go after (college) players in the (transfer) portal,” Shoffler said. “The facilities and the campus were beautiful. They have really upgraded their facilities.”

Shoffler, despite not being able to pitch for most of last season due to tendinitis in his throwing arm, emerged as one of the Cape-Atlantic League’s top players last spring. He led Lower Cape May in batting average (.434), hits (33), doubles (7), extra-base hits (9), runs scored (35), stolen bases (22) and walks (16).

He also did well in his return to the mound late in the season, pitching to a 0.40 earned run average by conceding just one earned run in 17 ? innings pitched.

Shoffler was an integral part of a team that posted one of its best seasons in recent program history. The Tigers finished 15-8 overall while winning the CAL United Division and qualifying for the prestigious Diamond Classic.

“It was one of the best years in a while for the team, so it was a lot of fun,” Shoffler said. “I think our team bonded well and we had good chemistry. We were a little disconnected (in 2022) but we figured it out more this year as a team. We had everyone contributing.”

Shoffler now goes into this senior year knowing his future in terms of where he’ll spend the next1 four years academically and athletically is in place.

“I really wanted to find the right school before my senior year,” Shoffler said. “It’s good going into my senior year to have that weight lifted off my shoulders. I can enjoy my last year in high school playing with the guys. I’m excited for that.”

Shoffler will eventually join a competitive Shippensburg program that finished 27-25 overall, 12-12 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in 2023. The Raiders earned a berth to the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament.

Shoffler said he plans to study business and/or exercise science at Shippensburg.