Georgia Southern pitcher, and former Valdosta High standout, Seth Shuman wasn’t quite ready to put down the baseball when the Eagles’ season came to an end in May.

So Shuman decided to travel 1,069 miles north to Barnstable, Massachusetts to play a little longer as a member of the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod League.

The Cape Cod League is one of 11 summer baseball leagues sanctioned by the NCAA, but none have produced as many future big-league players as the 10-team league located in the peninsula of Massachusetts.

“It’s pretty cool getting to play here because of the talent up here,” Shuman said. “There’s guys from across country, the big conferences: ACC, SEC, Pac-12.

“The competition level is big and it’s definitely a good experience for me.”

In 2016, a record total of 297 Cape Cod alumni populated major league rosters and the all-time total is more than 1,100.

Shuman is hoping to add to that figure in the future.

Earlier this month, Shuman was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Freshman All-American team at the conclusion of an eye-popping season at Georgia Southern.

A true freshman who divided his time between the gridiron and the diamond this past spring, Shuman recorded an 8-0 record over 14 appearances and nine starts for the Eagles.

In 56 2-3 innings of work, Shuman crafted a 3.34 ERA while striking out 49 batters with just 17 walks.

Looking to build on the momentum created at Georgia Southern, Shuman accepted an invite to the Cape Cod League, which required him taking a plane to Massachusetts and moving in with a host family and roommate/Cotuit teammate Adam Scott from Wofford College.

Ten days later, Shuman took the mound for his first start as a Kettleer.

Working on a warm 60 degree Massachusetts evening — which is still considerably cooler than the weather he’s accustomed to pitching in — Shuman retired the first eight batters he faced June 19 en route to four scoreless innings.

However, in the next frame, Shuman learned his first lesson of the summer.

The first two baserunners of the fifth inning reached on an infield single and a bunt the Kettleers failed to cover. Another bunt gave the opposing Chatham Anglers runners on second and third with one out.

Shuman stuck out the next batter, and he went up 1-2 on what could have been the final batter of the inning, before the opposing hitter was able to lace the ball into center field to drive in a pair of runs. Shuman retired the ensuing batter to complete the inning.

A few days after his start, Shuman waxed poetic about what he’d learned in his first appearance of the summer.

“The big thing I’ve noticed, from just sitting there just watching everybody and from my one performance on Monday, it is just really hitting your spots,” Shuman said. “I’ve noticed watching big leaguers play too. If you don’t hit your spots, inside or out, the hitters are good enough that they’re going to hit it where ever you miss.

“That was true on Monday.”

Shuman did a good job of mixing his pitches and attacking both sides of the plate to keep hitters off balance in his first start. He gave up four hits, and Shuman said they all occurred on pitches he didn’t locate.

“I gave up four or five hits and pretty much almost all the hits I gave up was, maybe a pitch called inside and I missed away, or a pitch called outside and I missed in,” Shuman said. “That’s really one thing that I’m going to try to work on this summer.

“And then working on my other two pitches, my change-up and my slider, just getting those better.”

Shuman started again on Monday, and this time he was hit hard from the start — giving up four hits and walking two in the first inning. He was pulled after two more hits and a walk loaded the bases in the second.

Ultimately, the Cape Cod League isn’t about results, though. It’s about the process, and Shuman is certainly ahead of schedule there.

The 6-foot-1, 195 pound righty is one of just three rising-sophomores to start against for Cotuit, and he’s the youngest pitcher on the roster by more than a month.

For that reason, Shuman is just focused on becoming a better pitcher.

“The biggest thing for me: Learning from my mistakes and knowing what pitches to throw in different counts,” Shuman said. “It was a good learning experience for me.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.