Wichita State catcher Gunnar Troutwine learns to put teammates before coaches

Wichita State catcher Gunnar Troutwine spent much of his freshmen season trying to make his coaches happy.

That makes sense, but it’s only part of the goal. Maturity comes when a player no longer worries about the moods and whims of coaches.

“We’re not a factor to him now,” coach Todd Butler said. “He’s not looking over at us, as a coaching staff with us nipping at him, ‘Block the ball.’ He knows how to do it.”

That development is particularly important with a catcher, who is responsible for guiding pitchers through difficult times. Troutwine, as his sophomore season begins, can devote his focus to them.

“A year ago, we were dealing with emotions,” assistant coach Brian Walker said. “Now we’re dealing with thought process and how do we make the adjustment? Now he’s not worried about us, he’s worried about his teammates and doing a great job for the pitching staff.”

Troutwine starts his sophomore season as one of many reasons to think WSU’s pitching statistics will improve. The defensive deficiencies that almost caused him to redshirt last season are improved. Now that he understands what coaches want, his talks with pitchers are more effective.

“He’s blocking fastballs in the dirt, which before he wouldn’t,” Walker said. “Those tough pitches that sometimes would get past him and get to the backstop are no longer happening.”

He will continue to hit in the middle of the order, as he did last season when he hit .298 with a .404 slugging percentage in 38 games to earn honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference honors.

“I put in a lot more work on the defensive side, Troutwine said. “It’s not fair to the pitcher to work so hard to get an out and I mess up at the end.”

Troutwine, Butler said, was the likely choice at catcher last season when the team returned from Christmas break. When he struggled with signs and defense in practices, Butler decided to redshirt him, while keeping an open mind. After 18 games, and with junior Ryan Tinkham unable to play the position because of injury, Butler reconsidered.

“You could tell he was pressing,” Butler said. “I thought it might be too much for him, so I kind of kept him in the wings and let him watch some games.”

Troutwine, from Shawnee Mission East, sat next to Walker in the dugout early in the season to soak up strategy. He watched senior Bob Arens, an excellent defender, and Tinkham. Given that break to study, he was ready when he played on March 17 against Western Illinois.

“I learned a lot with situations, what pitches to call, what’s expected,” Troutwine said.

When Butler decided to play Troutwine, he wanted him to start, in part ot help his development for this season. While it wasn’t always smooth, the adjustment period is over and Troutwine can start 2016 with a season’s worth of ups and downs to draw upon.

What’s expected this season is that Troutwine helps a pitching staff that slumped to a 5.10 ERA, the team’s worst since 1978, get back to Shockers standards. There is more experience on the mound and behind the plate than in 2015.

“From fall scrimmages and in the spring, pitchers are definitely coming at us more aggressively,” Troutwine said. “That’s nice to catch, but hitting sometimes gets a little bit difficult.”

Sunday option — Left-handed pitcher Cody Tyler started one game for the Shockers, in 2014 at Kansas.

“Third pitch of the game, popped it,” he said.

Season over.

Tyler underwent surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament (known as Tommy John surgery) on May 31, 2014. After redshirting in 2015, he figures prominently into WSU’s rotation for this season. Sam Tewes and Willie Schwanke will start WSU’s first two games next weekend against Northern Colorado. The Sunday spot is open with Tyler competing with senior Chase Williams, who ended last season as the third starter.

“It would be nice to have a left-handed starter, which we could have that in Cody Tyler,” Butler said. “He can really push for a starting job, even on the weekend.”

Tyler, from Terrell, Texas, returned to the mound last summer for the Wilmington (N.C.) Sharks. He struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings in his first start. For the summer, he went 3-4 with a 5.19 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 18 walks in 34 2/3 innings.

“It was definitely a long process,” he said. ““I’m glad it’s over. It felt good this summer and it’s good to be back in a Wichita State uniform.”

Tyler stuck with his fastball, curve and change over the summer. When he returned to WSU, he started rebuilding his confidence in his slider.

“The slider was the pitch that tore my UCL,” he said. “I was kind of wary about that at first. We’ve been working it back in and it’s turning out to be a really good pitch for me.”

Worth noting — WSU’s men’s track and field team is No. 4 in the Midwest Region rankings by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The women are 12th. Breanne Borman’s pentathlon score of 4,142, a school record, ranks 11th in the NCAA. Jamesia Milton’s weight throw of 66 feet, 10 inches, also a school record, is No. 16. The top 16 performances qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship in March.… WSU’s men’s tennis team plays New Mexico State at 10 a.m. Sunday at Genesis Health Club, 1551 N. Rock Road.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Wichita State catcher Gunnar Troutwine learns to put teammates before coaches."