Antioch’s Carson Young has seemingly done it all on a baseball field, shuttling between the infield, the outfield and catcher.
Being versatile is an enticing prospect and is certainly helpful to the team. But Young’s career was given its biggest jolt when he decided to focus solely on being a pitcher.
“It became time to pick between pitching and playing the field because physically it was a lot to go back and forth between,” he said. “Even last year, there were times I still wanted to catch more, but it was important to fit the role that the team needed, and that was in the bullpen.
“What I embraced was getting as good as I can at one thing.”
As a pitcher, Young has gotten very good. Although the right-hander is throwing only once a week, his appearances have been highly impactful for the Sequoits (17-10-1, 8-5), who have won seven of the eight games he has started and sit in third place in the Northern Lake County Conference.
Young will enter his final two regular-season starts with a 5-1 record, a 1.76 ERA, 62 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 43 2/3 innings.
Antioch coach Frank Fracek has slotted Young in the third game of their conference series, and the Bethel University commit has won the rubber game three times — against Wauconda, Grant and Lakes.
“That’s worked out pretty well, partly because I think I pitch a lot better when there’s a little more of an atmosphere,” Young said of his series-deciding role. “I tend to feed off the pressure. This has definitely been due to all the preparation I’ve done. That gave me the confidence to go out there and know I’ll perform.”
Last season, Young was eating up innings out of the bullpen, in part because he had suffered a stress fracture in his right elbow during the offseason. The main reason cited for the injury was overuse, which factored into his decision to become a pitcher only.
Young had no limitations coming into this season. He refined his slider and, after lifting weights six times per week in an effort to improve his overall physical condition, increased the velocity of his fastball. He said he reached 88 mph during the offseason.
“My body feels way better this year than it did last year, and you can tell by the way I’m throwing,” he said.
That’s not the only reason for Young’s success.
“I’ve been around only a few other kids who have the competitive edge that Carson does,” Fracek said. “He’s a total gamer, and he’s very driven, having short-term goals for long-term success. He’s turned into our team leader because of the confidence and energy he exudes.”
Young is also using his experience as a catcher to pitch smarter.
“I watch a lot of interviews with major league pitchers on YouTube, and this one called ‘Slab Lab,’ there was someone talking about how you should try to race to two strikes as fast as you can,” he said. “I had never thought about that, but it makes sense. A hitter’s batting average with two strikes is really low, and it helps allow me to execute pitches when I want to execute them.”
Antioch senior catcher Mason Willis, a Carroll University commit, also helps in that endeavor. He has certain expectations every time Young is on the mound.
“We’ve had some pretty good arms around here, like Jack Olson and Dylan Feldkamp, and he’s filling in the ace role as well as anyone we’ve had,” Willis said. “He’s the guy we trust, and when he has good tempo, he really commands the game. He has a real mound presence.”
Young said he thinks that mound presence gives him an advantage, especially in the face of often-raucous opposing dugouts.
“Even when I was young, I had a way of shutting it all out,” he said.
Young appreciates all of his starts this season. But his most recent appearance has special meaning for him. The conference game against Lakes on Friday was Antioch Youth Local League night.
“That was one of the most fun games to be a part of because it represented a full-circle moment,” Young said. “I remember going to all of the Antioch High School camps and looking up to the high schoolers. Seeing kids watching us and cheering us on was a really nice feeling.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
