Forestview duo signs with UNC after productive summers

GASTONIA — Forestview seniors Reilly Hovis and Zach Daly had to wait a long time between reaching their college decisions and making those decisions official.

The baseball standouts committed to the University of North Carolina in Sept. 2010, and they were finally able to sign their binding national letters of intent with the opening of the signing period last week.

“Making a commitment is one thing, but once it becomes official it means a little bit more,” Forestview coach Brian Horne said.

The two have played on the same baseball team off and on since the age of 6 or 7, most recently with Impact Baseball’s Dirtbags showcase team. Horne said the offseason has been productive for both of them, with Hovis consistently reaching 89-91 mph with his fastball and Daly slugging 12 home runs in a wooden-bat league.

“They both had what I would call breakout summers as far as the pro scouts’ eyes,” Horne said.

“It’s been a really exciting time for them the past few months and both of them have performed against some of the best players in the country and they stood out in some of those outings.”

Hovis took his offseason so seriously that he spent most of the summer in Durham and worked out every morning with a trainer. Daly worked out a great deal as well, only locally.

Hovis, a pitcher and infielder, earned first-team All-Gazette honors this past spring after pitching 66 innings with a 5-5 record, 2.10 ERA and 93 strikeouts. He also batted .472 with three home runs. Hovis is the cousin of 2002 Forestview graduate Jonathan Hovis, who helped North Carolina reach the College World Series in 2006 and led the nation in ERA that year.

Daly, an outfielder, was named to the All-Gazette team after batting .323 with three home runs and 17 RBIs.

“Both of those kids are very level-headed, and baseball’s the top priority on their list,” Horne said. “This is all stuff that you don’t get to go through much.”

Phillip Gardner: 704-869-1843; twitter.com/gazettephil