Ambridge High School's J.T. Thomas dreams of playing at the University of Texas.

Moon Area's Adrian Sykes dreams of playing at Ohio State.

But not football. Their field of dreams is baseball.

Thomas and Sykes are two of the few African-American athletes playing high school baseball locally. At 22 high schools fielding varsity baseball teams in The Times' circulation area, there are 16 African-American players.

Thomas and Sykes are the only African-American players on their respective teams, as is the case with Chris Glass of Freedom and Rocky Washington of Beaver Falls.

At a time when many young African-American athletes have cast baseball aside for football and basketball, these four young men have continued in a game they started in their youth.

"It's always been my first love, since I was 7 years old," says Sykes, a senior who has been accepted into the bio-sciences program at Ohio State. He has spoken with the Buckeyes' head baseball coach, but no official offer has been made. "The idea in everyone's mind is that baseball is boring. But if you don't play the game, you don't appreciate it."

"They (friends) always say I'm a wimp for playing baseball," says Thomas, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior pitcher who has been playing since age 8. "But I'm pretty sure (a lot of kids) are afraid of the ball.

"You play football and you're getting hit by 300-pound men ... that baseball doesn't hurt that much."

Glass actually stopped playing baseball once he reached his teenage years to concentrate on basketball and football.

In the fall, Glass will attend California University of Pennsylvania to play football. He decided to play varsity baseball this season for the first time because of Freedom's winning tradition.

"I wanted to be a part of that," says Glass.

Glass hasn't just been part of Freedom's winning this season. He's been a big part of it. Through Monday, Glass is hitting .406 with 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored.

"That's not bad for a kid who hasn't played baseball since Little League," says Freedom head coach Steve Wetzel.

In fact, each of these young men has made major contributions to his respective team.

Through Monday, Washington is hitting .500 (18 for 36) with 11 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and 14 RBIs. Sykes is hitting .514 (18 for 35) with four home runs and 20 RBIs.

Thomas, one of the Bridgers' top two pitchers, had his season cut short by an arm injury. He was 0-1 in two games with a 4.00 ERA and eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

Their baseball talent is obvious, but half of this elite group is opting for football in college.

Besides Glass, Washington, whose father, Robert, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, plans to walk on for football at Penn State in the fall - though he's only 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds and has only one year of varsity football at Beaver Falls under his belt.

Washington is counting on having the same growth spurt his father did at a late age. Robert "Rocky" Washington was 4-11 as a high school junior, but shortly after graduation he sprouted to 6-feet and wound up as a wide receiver on Penn State's 1982 national championship football team.

"I like football better, but I don't want to give up baseball," says the younger Washington. "The main reason I stay with baseball is my dad spent so much time with it. I can't just throw that away."

Washington says he would consider going back to baseball if football doesn't work out.

When Sykes' brother Austin, who was offered a baseball scholarship by Ohio State, chose instead to play football at Miami of Ohio, it was a difficult decision. Adrian Sykes already has his mind made up, keeping him in rare company among today's African-American athletes who choose baseball over football or basketball.

"I've really prepared hard this season," says Sykes. "I've been training and training my whole life ... the sweat and the tears. I appreciate (baseball) because I've invested so much time."