Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight!

Photo: Samantha Frank

Article By: Brian Butler

At Oklahoma State University, Marcus Brown and Roc Riggio have gelled into a potent double-play pairing up the middle. With Riggio at second base and Brown at shortstop, the Cowboys ended the year ranked 19th in the country, advancing to the finals of the Stillwater regional before ultimately being eliminated by Arkansas. Once the pair wrapped up their college season, they found themselves up the middle once again for a new team: the Chatham Anglers. Once they both debuted for the Anglers, Brown and Riggio’s connection helped them quickly find their footing on the Cape.

“You have a good comfort, knowing that you’ve worked with a guy for months on end. Lot of feel around the bag, you know you don’t have to worry about double play turns or anything.” Brown, whose performance this summer led him to the Cape League All-Star Game, said of reuniting with Roc for the summer.

Riggio, a member of the D1 Baseball Freshman All-American First Team, shared Brown’s sentiment, saying “playing up the middle with Marcus and having that trust every day, knowing he’s got my back and I’ve got his, that’s carried us a long way.”

Upon their arrival to the Cape, the pair made a decision to continue a tradition they began at school, but with a new twist. At Oklahoma State, Brown and Riggio had a pregame handshake that they performed before every game in which they were up the middle. In Chatham, the duo made an impromptu decision to come up with a new routine, developing a new handshake that they do between innings. Brown stated that the change in scenery prompted the change, claiming that they felt the in-between innings celebration was more fitting with the Anglers.

Brown and Riggio are not the only two members of Oklahoma State’s roster from this past year to play for Chatham, however. Outfielder Lyle Miller-Green and pitcher Trevor Martin have also made appearances for the Anglers this summer, putting four Cowboys on the roster at the same time. That bond helped the duo feel even more comfortable on the Cape.

“We spent the whole year together. We were in the clubhouse together, and we did everything together, so seeing our family again has been really good,” Riggio said.

The double-play duo has also furthered their bond through the friendship of their furry friends. Brown and Riggio both have poodles, named JoJo and Ruffles, respectively, that they brought out to the Cape this summer.

“It’s weird, but it is very true.”, said Riggio, who went on to mention that the dogs have spent a lot of time hanging out together over the summer, and have become good friends.

Brown agreed, saying “It’s pretty funny. We like to think that we’re best friends and that our dogs are gonna be best friends too now.”

The dogs can be seen in many photos taken by Cape League photographers, and have started to become celebrities in their own right around the league.

While this summer is coming to an end and the pair will soon be back in Stillwater, they’ve grown even closer playing together on the Anglers. Brown and Riggio both said they thoroughly enjoyed their time on the Cape. As the regular season comes to its conclusion, the duo has been trying to make the most out of every day and have been making baseball more fun every way they know how.