It’s always fun to see local high school athletes move onward and upward in their careers.

It’s that much more fun when you see them do so while staying at home.

Six such athletes immediately come to mind.

Three are playing baseball for the Butler BlueSox. Two are playing football for Slippery Rock University. One is a longtime professional boxer.

Each is living a dream.

Butler graduates Cody Herald and Mick Fennell are outfielders for the BlueSox. Both are coming off stellar individual seasons with PSAC schools Seton Hill and California, respectively.

Herald is hitting .296 — second-best average on the team among regulars — with 16 RBI. Fennell has not been starting regularly and has struggled at the plate, but does have five sacrifice hits, a pair of stolen bases and has seen action on the mound.

Fennell was not on the team’s original roster, but was signed to a temporary deal to begin the season and has stuck around.

Mars graduate Dave Bednar has impacted the BlueSox in a big way. Coming off a spring in which he started as a freshman at Lafayette, Bednar is 3-1 with a sparkling 1.63 earned run average for the BlueSox, striking out 27 while walking only four in 22 innings pitched.

A fellow Mars graduate, Austin Miele, will be one of five returning starters on defense for SRU this fall. A transfer from St. Francis, Miele led The Rock with 90 tackles last year from his strong safety position.

Miele has become one of the hardest hitters at SRU, coming up with 8.5 tackles for loss in run support last year.

Butler graduate Bob Vernick was a true freshman linebacker at SRU who got on the field quite a bit. He was the team’s long-snapper, started a game at linebacker and had 17 tackles last year.

With SRU graduating starting linebackers Quindell Dean, Bob Westerlund and Gary Allen from last year’s team, Vernick has a chance to make a major impact this fall.

Butler graduate Brian Minto has made quite an impact in the boxing world and looks for his 40th career win next weekend when he takes on undefeated Joseph Parker in New Zealand.

Minto turns 40 in January and has 46 career professional fights. Parker is 22 and this will be his ninth pro fight. But Parker is all the rage in New Zealand and is looking to use Minto as a stepping stone. Both fighters hold regional titles.

When he made his pro debut in the ring, Minto was six years older than Parker is now. Minto fought many of his bouts right in Butler, including two memorable victories at Pullman Park.

Sometimes, opportunities to advance one’s abilities in athletics are available without having to travel too far.

These six individuals have proven that.

Seneca Valley graduate Brandon Fusco played football at SRU and wound up in the NFL.

Sometimes, there really is no place like home.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle