Brice Cutspec, Christian Gagne, Stephen Gillette – Azusa Pacific University

Justin Roswell: Where Are They Now?

Recently, the Azusa Pacific University Cougars took on the Concordia University Eagles in the battle for the GSAC (Golden State Athletic Conference) title. The Cougars were victorious due to the help of three former Baseball Factory and Team One Alum. Brice Cutspec (Sophomore), Christian Gagne (Junior), and Stephen Gillette (Junior) all helped the Cougars in their 13 – 3 victory over Concordia University (Irvine, CA). Both Cutspec and Gillette went 2 – 3 and Gagne threw one inning in relief after starter Andrew Shive threw seven strong innings.

This week I would like to jog back down memory lane to March of 2004. Baseball Factory and Team One held a National Tryout at Blair Field in Long Beach, California in search of the top high school players in Southern California. I was throwing BP when this big kid (Brice Cutspec), maybe 6’2 – 6’3, 200+ lbs, stepped up to the plate and just looked head and shoulders above the other participants that day. He proceeded to hit balls from the left side off of the scoreboard and right field wall. All of a sudden our CEO, Steve Sclafani, out of nowhere yells, “Roz, what’s that kid’s jersey number.” I said, “He’s wearing number 37.” Steve then approached Brice, a young sophomore who looked like he could be a senior in college, and asked him if he would like to represent Baseball Factory at the USA Junior Olympic Tournament and the Team One West Showcase. The young man, with a smile from ear to ear, gladly accepted.

At Team One West, Brice again performed well and earned himself a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Arizona. During the fall of his freshman year at Arizona, Brice found out that he would be the third or forth string first baseman on the squad. Knowing Brice, sitting on the bench was not something that he would enjoy. So, during Thanksgiving break, Brice and I had lunch and started discussing how his fall went and where he stood on the depth chart for the Wildcats.

He said, “JR, its not looking good, I don’t want to sit on the bench all year.”

I said, “Me neither. You are too talented of a player not to be utilized.”

Exactly one week later, Baseball Factory was hosting another National Tryout in Southern California and the Assistant Baseball Coach at Azusa Pacific University, Robert Ruiz was working on-field. While the players were stretching Robert and I started discussing his team for that upcoming spring and what his needs were. He said, “JR, I’m down a big bat and we have a huge hole at first base to fill.”

I said, “Funny you should say that, because I have a player who is looking to leave the University of Arizona and go to a school where he will have an opportunity to play.”

Coach Ruiz proceeded to pull his cell phone out of his baseball pants and call Head Coach Paul Svagdis about this possible big bat to add to the already lethal Cougar lineup. And as they say, the rest is history. Azusa Pacific offered Brice a baseball scholarship and as a true freshman, he hit 19 home runs and helped lead the Cougars to the NAIA (National Athletic Interscholastic Association) World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

Cutspec, currently in his sophomore season with Azusa, has 11 hr’s, a .409 batting average, and 58 RBI. He also received all-conference and gold glove honors.

We would like to acknowledge Brice, Christian, and Stephen for their academic and athletic achievements thus far at Azusa Pacific University.

Check out the Azusa Pacific Baseball Stats and team roster for bios on Brice, Christian and Stephen.

Justin Roswell joined the Baseball Factory in 2001 serving in the scouting, event coordination, and player development departments. In 2007 he became the Senior Director for Team One Baseball, the showcase division of Baseball Factory. As Senior Director, he leads the player identification process for all Team One Regional Showcases. Justin also runs the Under Armour Tournament Division. Justin graduated from California State University - Fullerton, where he received his degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis on management.