Wichita State’s Alex Jackson started his swing in backyard batting cage

The batting cage served its purpose for Wichita State’s Alex Jackson, surviving line drives, wind, rain and Texas heat for more than a decade.

“Just some poles and a net,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t the best batting cage, but it worked. It stayed up just long enough, before I left for college.”

Jackson learned to hit in that batting cage, built by his father, Jerald, in the backyard of their house in Double Oak, Texas. He still learns from dad, a former second baseman at Texas-Arlington. Those lessons helped put Jackson, a freshman outfielder, hitting leadoff for WSU with a .275 batting average and five doubles.

Jackson heads home this weekend for Wichita State’s series at Dallas Baptist (28-16, 8-4 Missouri Valley Conference). The Shockers (21-23, 6-6) escaped the bottom of the MVC with last weekend’s sweep of Illinois State. To keep climbing, they must escape its woeful road performances. WSU is 3-17 on the road with six of its final nine Valley games away from Eck Stadium.

The trip to Dallas is welcome for Jackson, who expects family and friends to congregate at DBU’s Horner Ballpark this weekend. On Friday, he plans to eat his grandmother’s fried chicken with green beans and rice.

“That’s what I think of when I think of a home-cooked meal,” he said.

He is good friends with Dallas Baptist outfielder Jameson Hannah, who attended Flower Mound High, and outfielder Logan Sepanek, a Flower Mound Marcus product, as is Jackson.

Jerald Jackson will be there to offer his hitting advice in person. He watches most Shockers game online and travels to many home series. They talk almost every day, usually about hitting.

“He’ll watch me on TV and say, ‘Oh, you’re lunging at the ball,’ ” Alex Jackson said. “He was a good hitter. His dad was a good hitter. He really knows how to teach a swing.”

Jackson came to WSU as an infielder and worked at second base and shortstop all fall. Coach Todd Butler liked his hitting, so he tried him in the outfield during spring practices.

“He kind of fit right in to center field,” Butler said. “He has a pure swing that works, and when you have a good swing you have a chance to have good at-bats.”

Jackson has started 34 games, 29 in center. His speed and instincts helped him adjust to the open spaces and fly balls. The biggest change, he said, was learning to drop-step to retreat on balls hit to either side, instead of first stepping toward the flight path.

“He has a natural air sense to the ball, takes pretty good angles,” Butler said. “I was really surprised that he was that natural out there.”

Jackson devotes time during batting practice to acclimate to the outfield, usually playing shallow so he could work on angles.

“Coach (Butler) took me aside and showed me a couple angles I was doing wrong,” he said. “I’ve been getting better and better.”

Worth noting — Zach Lewis (3-3, 3.04 ERA) will start Friday for the Shockers. Lefty Cody Tyler (4-4, 5.13) is scheduled for Saturday with Sunday’s starter to be determined. … The Shockers are hitting .228 in road games and compiled a 7.15 ERA. … This is WSU’s second trip to Dallas Baptist since it joined the MVC in 2014. The Patriots took two of three games in 2015. The series is tied 7-7 and DBU leads 6-3 as MVC opponents.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s Alex Jackson started his swing in backyard batting cage."