BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend's Carson Umphres is passing a master-class of moving his game to the next level, thanks to Bat Cats coach Roger Ward.
"Coach Ward stresses to take advantage of every day," Umphres said. "He wants to make sure you're 100% ready and prepared for the next level. You want to take what you learn into college next year."
Umphres earned Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors for the 5A state runner-up. Umphres (8-2, 1.47 ERA) and (.443, 46 R, 35 RBI) led the Panthers to a 25-6 record.
He's carved out a solid summer for the Bat Cats (3-1, 2.61 ERA) with 30 strikeouts in 32 innings and (12-45, .267, .431 on base) hitting.
All-stater Umphres will compete as a pitcher/outfielder at Texas State Community College.
Umphres hasn't changed his pitching repertoire, which features fastball, curve, slider, knuckleball and change-up.
"It's hard to hit a baseball, so I attack the strike zone with fastballs," Umphres said. "If you get them in a 'bad count' you try and strike them out. I'm going to give batters my best, no matter where they're from. Coach Ward believes leadoff walks lead to runs. You want the batter to earn their way one base."
Umphres' approach is to throw strikes working ahead in the count. The 70 mph knuckleball is one of his favorite off-speed pitches.
"The better competition is unlikely to see a knuckleball very often," he said. "Most batters don't want to swing at it. A knuckleball is never going to be the same pitch. At age 10, I started throwing it and stuck with it. I'll talk with my catchers and tell them how my pitches are looking that night."
Umphres' approach hasn't changed, but the batters are batters are a step up from high-school level.
"They're all college-level hitters. They're more aggressive, and they take better swings," he said. "The biggest difference is the extra college experience they have. They're more likely to hit the ball hard somewhere."
At the plate, Umphres has gradually adjusted to the higher level of pitching. He's batting .444 (12-27) with balls in play outside of his 18 strikeouts.
"Hitting summer pitching is 100% different," he said. "Your approach doesn't change. I go out there hunting for fastballs. The second at-bat, you know how the pitcher will attack you."
The summer pitchers have worked on their craft.
"The biggest difference is the pitchers show multiple pitches they throw for strikes," he said. "They can throw fastballs and curves on any count for strikes. High school pitchers might make multiple mistakes in one at-bat. Now, you might see just one mistake in an at-bat. You learn from everyone's at bat. You watch what he's throwing to righties or lefties."
Umphres said he appreciates a final summer in Great Bend, welcoming the Bat Cat players to town.
"It's been fun meeting all my teammates," he said. "Lots of times, they'll hang out at my place being a local player. It's been a great experience getting ready for my college season. I definitely have an upper hand on other freshmen going to Texas next season."
