Catfish player finds summer stability on AND off the diamond

Dante Zamudio has had a mercurial journey throughout his baseball career. However, a place of stability for the California native has been Cape Girardeau, and more specifically, the home of Cory and Kristen Daniel of Jackson.

“The answer for both,” Zamudio said of playing a second season with the Cape Catfish, as well as living with the Daniel family, “is that they feel like family.”

As a high school senior, Zamudio expected to play at the University of Nevada, but when the pandemic hit that spring, the 2021 Wolfpack roster ended up filled with returning student-athletes, so that opportunity fell through.

He spent one year at Los Angeles Mission College, which didn’t offer baseball in the spring of 2021, before spending a year at NCAA Division II West Virginia State College.

In search of an NCAA Division I opportunity, he transferred to Pierce College in Los Angeles for this past season, and his plan worked because he will play at NCAA Division I UC Irvine this fall.

“It is a dream to go to Irvine,” Zamudio said. “I made that my absolute goal to go there.”

In the swirling midst of those stops, has been an eye of peace in Southeast Missouri for Zamudio.

Despite never visiting Missouri before, he signed to play with the Catfish last season and had a great experience – on and off of the diamond – right up until suffering an arm injury, which ended his summer season.

“I like how Godly it is here,” Zamudio said of the Midwest. “I like how much faith everyone has here. I am comfortable here. I feel at home here and not out of place.”

The same could be said of his experience as a “second son” to the Daniel family.

Zamudio lived with the Daniels a year ago, and it was so nice of an experience, both parties knew they would do it again as soon as Zamudio signed to return to Cape Girardeau.

“We have had a really good experience,” Cory said of serving the Catfish as a host family. “We have been doing the host family thing every year. This is our fourth year and third kid.”

Each of the Catfish players that have moved into the Daniels’ home has served as a big brother for eight-year-old Caden Daniels, who is an only child.

“We knew if (Dante) came back,” Cory explained, “then he was going to be with us.”

Zamudio, who can play several positions (first base, outfield, pitcher) had his most productive game of the summer on Friday, as he knocked in three RBI while scoring twice and getting a couple of hits in a 12-2 rout of Alton (15-30 overall, 6-13 second half).

“It just feels like home here,” Zamudio said. “I’m very comfortable (with) the coaches, the people, my host family, they just make you feel like home.”

Zamudio’s family is visiting from their Sylmar, California home this weekend, which will provide a nice (but rare) opportunity for Zamudio to play in front of everyone special in his life.

“You get the ‘Hi,’ ‘please,’ and ‘thank you’ from everybody here,” Zamudio said. “It just feels very comfortable.”

Zamudio’s production on Friday was joined by Chris Hall, Kevin McCarthy, Justin Carinci, Brody Chrisman, Landon Godsey, and Kaden Jeffries, each of whom had two hits in the game.

Cape had 14 hits in the romp, including a triple and a home run by Zamudio, another home run from Godsey, and doubles from Carinci, Godsey, and Jeffries.

Former Jackson High School standout Caden Bogenpohl was dominant on the mound.

He threw five innings and allowed just one hit while striking out eight batters and walking two.

Bogenpohl did not allow a run in the game.

The Catfish (32-14 overall, 10-8 second half) will continue their four-game homestand with a Sunday game against Normal (4:35 p.m.) before a Tuesday night game against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp at 6:35 p.m.).