ROCK HILL, S.C. -  On this segment of Ever Stand at Home, Alyssa Sconzo is joined by Spencer Yankle, the starting catcher for Winthrop Baseball. The two talk about quarantine, Yankle's decision to return for another season, 2021 expectations and much more!

AS: "How have you been spending your time while being in quarantine?"
SY: "I'm probably doing a lot of what other people are doing – just trying to find ways to keep busy. I've been working out a lot here at school. I've been working, I work at Burgers & Barley now. Just doing anything I can to keep busy. I've been playing a little golf, some disc golf, wake boarding and long boarding – at least until I crashed so I don't do that anymore. Just keeping busy!"

AS: "You have been busy. Have you watched any good movies or shows lately?"
SY: "Yeah, we've actually been watching a lot of movies. Some of the guys at my house at school haven't seen Harry Potter yet so we watched all seven of those during quarantine – that was exciting. Just watching a lot movies and shows."

AS: "So, you transferred to Winthrop from a community college in Tennessee. What was it about the school and the program that made you want to play here?"
SY: "I really liked the area. I love the Carolinas, especially being from Ohio, where it's a little different for me. I think there was a lot of room for me to grow here as a player as well as a person and student. They had my major, I'm a healthcare management major. The program here is really, really good so that helped too. I really liked the coaches, the facilities and the other players. It just seemed like the right fit for me. I really enjoyed it on my visit."

AS: "You were ranked 28^th overall out of the catchers in the D1 Baseball power rankings following the shortened season. How special was it for you to be recognized like that?"
SY: "It was tremendous hearing that and getting some recognition. To be honest, the ranking isn't my goal, that's a great after-product of the hard work I've put in and how the coaches have helped me but like I said, ranking isn't really my goal. My goal is for us to get to regional as a team and a personal goal is for me to get drafted later on down the road. The ranking is great but it doesn't mean a whole, whole lot to me."

AS: "You recently made the decision to return to Winthrop for another season. What went into making that decision for you?"
SY: "It was an easy decision. I got another year to play with the boys and finish up my schooling. I got another year to play college baseball, so I was absolutely ecstatic about that. When we played Clemson on a Tuesday and got walked-off in 11 innings, it was tough. After that a lot of didn't know if we were going to be able to play again or what was going to happen. The fact that they granted us another year of eligibility and we can come back – it just means the world to me and I know I speak for some other seniors as well. The fact that we get to come back and wrap things up properly after four years of a lot of hours and time put in, it's really special to wrap it up properly."

AS: "The baseball team was off to its best start since 2009 when COVID-19 canceled the remainder of the season. What are your expectations for 2021?"
SY: "I'm so excited. I think we're going to be great. I think we're going to roll some teams. I'm really excited. I think we have a lot of guys coming back. I think we have a lot of talent. I'm so excited to get started. I think a lot of guys, especially with how last year started, I think a lot of guys are hungry to get back. I know we have a lot of good freshmen and we got a few good transfers that we picked up over this quarantine period. I'm really excited and I can't wait to get going. It's going to be fun."

AS: "Before I let you go, I have some baseball themed questions I wanted to ask you. Favorite baseball team?"
SY: "I got the Cleveland Indians."
AS: "First baseball memory?"
SY: "I had an older brother play baseball and my dad was always the coach of his team, so I think just being the younger brother and tagging along to all of the baseball stuff would probably be my first memory."
AS: "What is your walkup song?"
SY: "This year is was "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage The Elephant but next year? Who knows. It could be anything. I might be coming out to something bumpin' we'll see."
AS: "Who is your favorite baseball player?"
SY: "I think my favorite baseball player would have to be Jason Crumley."
AS: "What is your least favorite baseball team?"
SY: "Oh definitely the Red Sox. I'm not a fan. I take the back! It's the Astros. It's the Astros now. Astros then Red Sox."
AS: "What is your favorite ballpark food?"
SY: "Probably just a ballpark frank – keep it classic. Maybe put some chili and cheese on there."
AS: "The coolest park you've ever played at?"
SY: "This is a tough one. I've played at some cool college parks but I think when we played at BB&T last year in Charlotte was really cool. The stadium was really nice and it's dead in the middle of Charlotte so all of the buildings and stuff surround the stadium. It was really cool. I really liked that one a lot so it would have to be my favorite."
AS: "What position would you want to play if you weren't a catcher?"
SY: "Probably a pitcher. I'd like to do a little switch where pitchers can be catchers and catchers can be pitchers. I would love that, I would be in heaven if we could do that. Just so I can see how the other side lives. I was working on a little bit of first base this year. We didn't get to see any of that this season though. So probably pitcher or maybe shortstop would be cool. Shortstops are always cool."
AS: "And what is the significance behind your jersey number?"
SY: "People always ask, "what does your number mean?" I've had different numbers at my colleges, four different numbers in high school, so I kind of just pick a number and make that my number. I never wore 19 before but they gave me 19 so I thought I'd make the best of it."

AS: "Thank you so much for your time today. It was great getting to talk to you!"
SY: "Thank you so much for having me!"