Tyrone Class of 2016 grad Coy Focht took his talent to Juniata College last fall, where he is majoring in pre-physical therapy and playing on the varsity baseball team.

Off the field, Focht and his teammates are raising money to help a cause close to Focht’s heart, the fight against childhood cancer.

The team is raising money for the College Baseball vs. Cancer campaign, which is a part of the “Vs. Cancer” foundation to cure childhood cancer.

The cause is especially important to Coy because three years ago he lost a friend and teammate, Dylan Crunick, to cancer. This fundraiser allows Coy to honor his friend in more ways than just having Dylan’s initials on his cleats.

The overall goal of the College Baseball vs. Cancer campaign is $400,000.  Focht would like Eagle Eye readers to help Juniata reach its team goal of $5,000.

“My goal personally is $200 but if I could get more than that it would be great,” said Focht.

You can help by clicking HERE. The deadline to donate is April 23rd.

According to Coy, playing baseball and having more freedom at college have both been a positive experiences for him.

“College is a new experience,” said Focht, “There are good parts and bad parts to it. I miss seeing my high school friends and the classes are definitely harder than high school, but that was expected. It can be a tough transition but the freedom you get in college is great.”

One of the most positive experiences Focht has had so far is the opportunity to play college baseball for the Juniata Eagles.

“We are a very young team so we all still have a lot of learning to do but we have certainly showed promise,” said Focht, who play s first base when he is in the lineup.  “We are currently 5-14 overall. We would like to see a higher number in the win column and a much lower one in the loss column but we still have quite a few number of games to turn it around. At any game our starting line up consists mostly of underclassmen, often mainly freshman. As I said before, we are a very young team but we are growing, and I believe we have a bright future ahead of us.”

With the conference games just around the corner they are looking for some wins to help them make the playoffs.

As for advice to current TAHS students looking to head to college after graduation, Coy says that students should take advantage of the opportunities available to them in high school.

“The dual enrollment classes and classes like Chem 2, where you get college credits will help you a lot. Taking them in high school is a great opportunity to save money and go into your freshman year of college with an advantage,” said Focht.