Defensive standout has helped Shockers baseball to longest winning streak since 2008
Playing catcher on a team coached by Eric Wedge, the backstop for the 1989 Wichita State national champions, sets the bar high.
“Wedge tells us that we’ve got to catch every single baseball that’s thrown toward you, no matter where it is,” WSU junior catcher Ross Cadena said.
Cadena has lived up to that challenge so far this season for the Wichita State baseball team, which has won nine games in a row — its longest winning streak since 2008 — entering a weekend series with the Shockers (10-2) taking on Louisiana Tech (10-3) starting 3 p.m. Friday at Eck Stadium.
The best example of Cadena’s defensive excellence came in last week’s 2-1 win over Kansas State. In the sixth inning, starter Tommy Barnhouse bounced a fastball well before home plate and the K-State runner on first base took off, sure there would be a wild pitch. Instead, Cadena snagged the ball on the first hop and easily threw out the runner at second base for his AAC-best fourth runner caught stealing.
“My thumb was getting busted up and I was losing my location fast, so that play was huge for me to make things less stressful,” Barnhouse said. “That’s why I love having Ross behind the plate for me because you know what you’re getting from him. As a pitcher, you really appreciate that kind of consistency.”
“I think that was a play where your instincts just take over,” Cadena added.
Cadena is also helping out at the plate, as he is third on the team in hitting with a .277 batting average to go along with nine runs scored and a team-best four doubles. But his biggest help to the Shockers has been his glove, as he has yet to make an error in 12 games and is routinely making run-saving plays like the one he did against K-State.
“That play just showed you what kind of athlete he is,” Wedge said. “You have to be one hell of an athlete to make that play. To pick the ball first and foremost, and then to have the wherewithal and the arm strength to throw the ball to second base like that was a big, big play for us.”
Hearing that from Wedge only motivates Cadena to be better.
“Having Wedge being a former catcher himself obviously motivates me more than anything,” Cadena said. “He’s been there, done that. Won a national championship, played in the big leagues, managed in the big leagues. Obviously I’m going to lay it all out on the line for him.”
While the Shockers have ripped off a nine-game winning streak, it’s also important to include some context. No team WSU beat during that stretch is higher than No. 144 in the RPI and the six teams are a combined 17-51 this season. The Shockers, 74th in RPI, will receive their first stiff test this weekend against a Louisiana Tech team ranked No. 79 in the RPI.
WSU has had plenty of bright spots early in the season, like a pitching staff with a 2.72 ERA and an 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings rate, both of which rank top 40 nationally. And like freshman Couper Cornblum, who has a team-best .410 batting average and .521 on-base percentage to go along with 13 runs scored, 11 RBIs and four stolen bases.
“It doesn’t stop, we’re still pushing forward,” Wedge said. “Every day is development. Every day is about getting better. These young men are driving confidence from that.”
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