A little more than three years ago, Forrestt Allday and Logan Moon were at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock together, playing for the University of Central Arkansas.
The pair eventually would lead the Bears to their best two-week run ever. Allday, then a senior outfielder, led them to a Southland Conference Tournament title and into an NCAA regional appearance for the first time.
That team pushed nationally-ranked Mississippi State to the brink of elimination, eventually losing in a winner-take-all final. A victory would have meant a spot in a super regional and two victories from the College World Series.
"For us to even be in the same category as those guys was really neat," Moon said.
"That's the best team I've been a part of," Allday said. "We did something special that year."
Allday and Moon are back at Dickey-Stephens this week, but this time they are opponents in the Class AA Texas League.
Allday, drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round in 2013, played in his second game for the Arkansas Travelers on Monday. Moon, drafted in 2014 in the sixth round by the Kansas City Royals after transferring to Division II Missouri Southern, is in his first season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
The two haven't had a lot of time to catch up this week. Allday arrived in Arkansas on Saturday from Class A Inland Empire in San Bernardino, Calif., and spent Sunday putting together his new living arrangements. But in a sport that can send a player from one end of the country to the other, it's always nice seeing a familiar face, if even for a little bit.
"We're rooting for each other," Moon said. "So both of us getting moved up is cool."
Moon has spent the whole season with Northwest Arkansas, where he was hitting .257 before Monday's game. Allday's season has been a bit less stable, having arrived in North Little Rock on Saturday after the most surprising eight weeks of his career.
Allday spent most of spring training in the Class AAA camp, and he even got into a handful of Red Sox exhibition games. He was moved to Class AA, then released on the last day of spring training. While his teammates reported to their new teams, Allday was on a plane back home to Friendswood, Texas, just south of Houston.
"It's a learning experience," said Allday, who has hit .262 in three minor-league seasons. "You can't take anything for granted; you've got to appreciate what you have."
Allday was home for a couple of days when the Los Angeles Angels called with an offer to join their Class A team. Allday, knowing the Travelers were in the Angels' system, was hopeful.
"I was like, 'Man, hopefully I can get to AA and get back to Arkansas,' " he said.
It didn't happen right away. He spent 10 days in Arizona, then played five games at Inland Empire before pulling his hamstring, which sent him to the disabled list. He went back to Arizona for rehab, and when he finally was heading back to the Inland Empire lineup, he was promoted to Arkansas.
"Man, another plane," he said of his reaction.
But Allday liked this trip, knowing it ended at his highest level in pro baseball and so close to where he played in college. He went 1 for 4 in his Sunday debut and, with center fielder Chad Hinshaw on the disabled list, figures to get regular at-bats.
It's a positive development that helps him forget about being cut two months ago.
"That doesn't affect my confidence at all," Allday said. "It didn't have anything to do with my play, they told me that. They signed a ton of [Class AAA] outfielders and that pushed a [Class AA] guy out, and I was that guy. It happens. It's a business. I'm looking forward to this year."
Moon singled in the third, and doubled and scored in the fifth for the Naturals on Monday night.
"Knowing your weaknesses and strengths, that was something that I was not very good with in the past," he said. "I'm not going to hit 25 home runs, and that's not everyone's game. If I can get on base more, get some doubles, that's nice."
Sports on 06/14/2016