|
|
|
 SHAYNE HOUCK, kutztown bears
The state of Pennsylvania is better well-known for smash-mouth in your face football then its penchant for producing quality baseball players. The Steelers and Eagles have become symbols of the blue collar state and pigskinners Mike  Ditka, Bill Cowher and George Blanda are hail from within its borders. That's not to say here haven't been some top shelf players to come out of the state, its just that by and large the Keystone State is primarily known for the football lore of the coal regions where Stef Djordjevic fumbled a handoff to cost Ampipe High the big game against Walnut Heights in “All the Right Moves”.
Nestled in the quaint, calmly rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania lays Boyertown, an unassuming town with a total population on the short size of 5,000. While football flourishes in other parts of the state, baseball blossoms in Boyertown. Boyertown has hosted the American Legion World Series multiple times and is the home of the beloved hometown Bears who regularly play deep into the American Legion state, regional and national playoffs. Good teams have to have good players, and Boyertown has been churning them out for years. It's no coincidence that Kutztown's Shayne Houck traces his roots back to Boyertown and lessons learned there.
“I started seeing his as he was coming up through the system” stated Kutztown coach Chris Blum, “You could just tell he had it as both a player and a hitter. I followed him through his junior year and heavily recruited him through the year and into the fall. Made him an offer and he accepted”.
Coach Blum has mildly touted his star player as “the steal of the century” and it's a good thing he was able to sign Houck early. Had he waited Houck's phenomenal senior summer may have sent him to a DI program far from the cold winters of Pennsylvania .
“Had he done in his junior year in his senior summer he might not be here, he absolutely tore it up” boasts Coach Blum.
So tearing it up is no strange thing for Houck, and he parlayed his high school success into a freshman campaign that most seniors would have been thrilled to go out with. He led the team in hits (64), home runs (7), runs (52), total bases (100), slugging percentage (.610), on-base percentage (.487) and batting average (.390); while helping Kutztown to a 34-17 record and their ninth straight regional bid. He also earned PSAC East Freshman of the Year honors.
Normally, once someone makes a name for themselves at the college level they can no longer fly under the proverbial radar. Opposing teams know about you and are much more careful when pitching to you; they just don't give you much to hit. Houck has responded by becoming more mature at the plate and taken what's been given to him and making the most of it.
“At this level you are lucky if a hitter makes adjustments game-to-game. Shayne makes adjustments pitch-to-pitch” Blum touted, “He can go the opposite way as easy as he'll turn on a ball and knock it out of the park”.
Through April 26 th the sensational sophomore was once again ripping opposing pitchers in the northeast; hitting .493 (NOT A TYPO) with 16 homeruns, 69 RBI, 137 total bases and a 1.007 slugging percentage that's higher then Dave Chappell in Half Baked.
The one statistic that is the most telling of this young man and his prowess as a hitter is he has walked 25 times this season with only 12 strikeouts. That, my friends is the sign of a patient hitter, a mature hitter, a hitter who takes what's given to him and makes the most of it.
Unless they lose the rest of their games and start dropping balls like Djordjevic did handoffs, the Kutztown Golden Bears will make their 10 th straight appearance in the NCAA Regionals in a few weeks. Once they get there they'll be modeling Houck, letting the game come to them, taking it one pitch at a time with hopes of making their way to a return trip to the College World Series.
|
|
|
|
