Corey Reffner
Corey Reffner began his baseball career on the local baseball diamonds and quickly became known as one of the most talented players in the area.
As a 14-year-old, Reffner struck out 14 adult league batters in a game and was named “Most Promising Young Player” in the Twilight League, an adult baseball league in Bedford County in the 1980s and 90s. He was named a Twilight League All-Star as a pitcher and an outfielder when he was 15 years old.
In his three years of varsity baseball at Everett, he pitched 12 complete games in which he allowed two hits or less including two no-hitters. He struck out 20 Chestnut Ridge batters and hit a two-run home run to help the Warriors to a 2-0 victory in seven innings.
From the age of 13, Reffner received coaching at Everett from some Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame members, Bob Foor and John “Shrimp” Foor, and he was coached in American Legion baseball by Bedford County Sports Hall of Famers Gary Waugerman and Mike Whitcomb. He also played for another Hall of Famer in Derrill “Dee” Kline in the York Colonial Labor Day Baseball Tournament, which is one of the premier adult baseball tournaments in the country. The Everett team was the runner-up of the tournament during the fall of his senior year.
Reffner also participated in an invitational fall league in Frederick, Maryland, where he had the opportunity to pitch in front of numerous professional and college scouts.
He was one of the most highly recruited left-handed pitchers in the eastern United States coming out of high school, in spite of the fact that he had four knee surgeries including an ACL reconstruction. He had numerous offers from Division I schools.
Reffner eventually picked James Madison University, where he received a full baseball scholarship. However, due to continued knee injuries and numerous surgeries (seven in all), he was only able to compete in the fall of his freshman year at JMU, finishing with a record of 3-1 with the wins over Campbell University, University of Maryland, and Radford University.
The following summer, he pitched in an exhibition game against the Russian Olympic team, and he struck out nine and allowed no hits in his three innings. Despite not pitching in another regular season game, Reffner was elected as a team captain his redshirt sophomore year and received his full scholarship for his entire undergraduate education. He was recognized as a Colonial Athletic Association Scholar Athlete during each of his first three years at JMU.
He went on to be a pitching coach at JMU for two seasons, coaching 11 pitchers that went on to play professional baseball. Six went on to be drafted and four played in the Major Leagues. He was also an athletic department administrator at JMU for seven years.
Upon returning to the Everett area in 2002, he began his youth coaching career and that still continues today. In 2017, he coached the Winning Edge Energy 18U Girls’ Fastpitch team to the USSSA Eastern World Series championship.
Reffner lives in Everett with his wife, Mia, and their two children, Sydney and Karson.
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Corey Reffner began his baseball career on the local baseball diamonds and quickly became known as one of the most talented players in the area.
As a 14-year-old, Reffner struck out 14 adult league batters in a game and was named “Most Promising Young Player” in the Twilight League, an adult baseball league in Bedford County in the 1980s and 90s. He was named a Twilight League All-Star as a pitcher and an outfielder when he was 15 years old.
In his three years of varsity baseball at Everett, he pitched 12 complete games in which he allowed two hits or less including two no-hitters. He struck out 20 Chestnut Ridge batters and hit a two-run home run to help the Warriors to a 2-0 victory in seven innings.
From the age of 13, Reffner received coaching at Everett from some Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame members, Bob Foor and John “Shrimp” Foor, and he was coached in American Legion baseball by Bedford County Sports Hall of Famers Gary Waugerman and Mike Whitcomb. He also played for another Hall of Famer in Derrill “Dee” Kline in the York Colonial Labor Day Baseball Tournament, which is one of the premier adult baseball tournaments in the country. The Everett team was the runner-up of the tournament during the fall of his senior year.
Reffner also participated in an invitational fall league in Frederick, Maryland, where he had the opportunity to pitch in front of numerous professional and college scouts.
He was one of the most highly recruited left-handed pitchers in the eastern United States coming out of high school, in spite of the fact that he had four knee surgeries including an ACL reconstruction. He had numerous offers from Division I schools.
Reffner eventually picked James Madison University, where he received a full baseball scholarship. However, due to continued knee injuries and numerous surgeries (seven in all), he was only able to compete in the fall of his freshman year at JMU, finishing with a record of 3-1 with the wins over Campbell University, University of Maryland, and Radford University.
The following summer, he pitched in an exhibition game against the Russian Olympic team, and he struck out nine and allowed no hits in his three innings. Despite not pitching in another regular season game, Reffner was elected as a team captain his redshirt sophomore year and received his full scholarship for his entire undergraduate education. He was recognized as a Colonial Athletic Association Scholar Athlete during each of his first three years at JMU.
He went on to be a pitching coach at JMU for two seasons, coaching 11 pitchers that went on to play professional baseball. Six went on to be drafted and four played in the Major Leagues. He was also an athletic department administrator at JMU for seven years.
Upon returning to the Everett area in 2002, he began his youth coaching career and that still continues today. In 2017, he coached the Winning Edge Energy 18U Girls’ Fastpitch team to the USSSA Eastern World Series championship.
Reffner lives in Everett with his wife, Mia, and their two children, Sydney and Karson.
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Class of 2018
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania