Never Say Never: Arizona slugger debuts for RiverDogs - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Never Say Never: Arizona slugger debuts for RiverDogs

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CHARLESTON, SC (WIS) -

Robert Refsnyder, the former Arizona Wildcat who helped end USC's quest for a third straight national championship, made his minor league debut with the Charleston RiverDogs Tuesday night.

The College World Series hero and most outstanding player famously wrote on twitter that he would never live in South Carolina because of racist remarks he allegedly received in Omaha from South Carolina fans.

In a home run of pure irony, Refsnyder was selected by the New York Yankees in the MLB Draft and sent to Charleston since the RiverDogs are a Class-A affiliate of the Bronx Bombers.

Although he had previously apologized for the series of tweets, Refsnyder apologized again to reporters Tuesday night and clarified his remarks.

"Saying evil and cruel things about myself and family, you know, if somebody is in my perspective, why would you kind of want to live in a place like that with so much hatred? I apologize for generalizing a whole state, that's so stupid and immature on my part, but I won't apologize for some of the things I said about trying to stick up for my family and things like that," Refsnyder said.

He received a warm reception from the fans during his first at bat -- a positive sign that everyone's moving past the unfortunate exchange of words.

Refsnyder went 1 for 4 Tuesday night, but the RiverDogs lost 6-1 against Asheville.

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