Mundelein senior Caden Earing is rising to the occasion.
It may not be surprising that Earing is putting the Mustangs on his shoulders. But it’s his hitting, not his pitching that made him a coveted college recruit, that’s carrying the weight.
“I got off to a little bit of a slow start, but I’ve been seeing the ball great,” Earing said. “When we were down in Nashville over spring break, something clicked. I’ve gotten some pitches I can handle, and I’ve capitalized on some errors that pitchers have made and been able to do damage.”
That’s an understatement. Earing recently had a 10-game streak for the ages. During that span, the Saint Louis commit had eight multi-hit games with 20 hits in all, including 10 for extra bases.
For the season, Earing is batting .440 with an .800 slugging percentage, 20 RBIs and 23 runs scored for the Mustangs (17-6-2, 7-3), who are in second place in the North Suburban Conference.
“I’m taking the simple approach,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball where it’s pitched. I’m staying in my legs more. At the start of the year, I was a little jumpy and was swinging a lot with my arms. I’m staying back now and hitting a lot of doubles over the center fielder.”
Earing’s hitting is even more noteworthy because he hasn’t pitched since mid-April due to a sore back. He has been kept off the mound out of an abundance of caution and because the Mustangs can lean on Valparaiso commit Joey Kafka and Wisconsin-Oshkosh commit Baris Brua in the rotation and Southeastern Community College commit Sean Sanderson and Brody Paluch in relief.
“I love to be on the mound, and I love to be in control out there,” Earing said. “But we want to make sure we don’t make it worse. My body has felt amazing lately.”
When Earing returns to the mound, the first thing people will notice is his 90 mph fastball. Velocity helped him earn a few varsity innings as a freshman, although that was an eye-opening experience for him.
“It’s nice to throw hard and be gifted with that, but I noticed that guys up here could hit fastballs,” Earing said. “That offseason was huge. I got a lot stronger, and I went from 84 to over 90.
“But I figured out how important it was to become a pitcher. It’s been the development of my slider that’s gotten me to this point.”
Mundelein senior catcher Brandon Marano has been Earing’s battery mate for more than a decade, so he has been front and center as Earing has built his pitching repertoire. Earing’s fastball has always captured people’s attention, and Marano has an inkling why, besides sheer velocity, it has been so effective.
“He has a whippy, athletic build, and even on the mound, he looks athletic,” Marano said. “I think that quickens the eyes of the batters and makes it look like his pitches are coming out even faster. He has an inside tail to righties, and layering the off-speed stuff with that makes it really hard. He’s just a ballplayer.”
That’s what Mundelein coach Randy Lerner sees in Earing — a player who can affect a game in different ways.
“Players like him, in any sport, just slow the game down, and that’s how he’s playing everywhere he plays,” Lerner said. “He’s playing the heck out of first base, helping guys out with high throws, being athletic. Hitting-wise, he’s become really good with two strikes, just battling.
“He’s a Division I pitcher, but he’s still the biggest contributor to the team.”
Earing’s pitching acumen is still being utilized at the plate. Because he plays the same games with opposing hitters, he’ll always have at least a decent chance to figure out what a pitcher intends to do.
“I’m seeing a crazy amount of off-speed pitches, so I’m trying to take advantage if they miss their spot,” Earing said. “I know what I’m looking for, and I’m trying to get into fastball counts.”
Earing’s favorite hit this season was a game-tying double in the top of the seventh inning of the Mustangs’ 6-5 extra-inning win against Libertyville on April 22. The ramifications for the team were far-reaching.
“That was definitely one of our most memorable games, and ever since then, we’ve had a chip on our shoulders,” Earing said. “I always knew we had the potential to be really good.
“I may be focusing on hitting right now, but as long as I can affect the way we win, that’s all that matters.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
