Four Butte baseball players move on to new programs
May 25, 2020
Mark Taylor, Sammy Gonzales head to CCAA; Frankie Cleary, Dalton Smith head to Salem International
BUTTE VALLEY — Dalton Smith has spent his entire life playing baseball in Chico.
Smith, a pitcher, went through the ranks of the Chico Nuts American Legion system, played three years of varsity baseball at Chico High, played summer ball with the Chico Heat collegiate wood-bat team and even had a stint playing for Chico State.
After a brief season at Butte College, is off to West Virginia to play for Salem International University, a Division II program. Smith is one of four Roadrunners to sign on to a four-year program. Mark Taylor, a Pleasant Valley High alumnus, Frankie Cleary of Paradise and Sammy Gonzales all made their next moves official.
“I never really left the state of California for an extended period of time,” Smith said. “That was a big thing. I wanted to see what life is like on the east coast.”