(
Reaches out
by: John Mark Brooks
Most baseball players wouldn't drive eight hours to try out for five and a half
hours.
Then again
Proving just that, Cadenhead
recently made a 20-man South roster, out of 120 players who tried out for the
The 6-foot-3 185-pound senior tried out from
When Cadenhead went to bed that
night, he didn't know if he had made the team. So did that make for some
anxious moments?
“I felt like I done pretty good, so it wasn't too bad,” he
said.
The next morning he received a phone call confirming his
tryout was good enough to land him a spot on the team.
“I just thought I was very fortunate that I was able to make
the team and I was hoping I could do good,” Cadenhead said.
Playing on television for the first time, Cadenhead went 1-for-2 at the plate, with an RBI; and
although his primary position is catcher, Cadenhead
pitched one inning, allowing no runs, striking out two batters and giving up no
hits in a 10-9 South victory.
Mustangs head coach Chris Matile
was the one who told Cadenhead about the game,
leaving Cadenhead particularly grateful.
“I appreciate Coach Matile giving
me the brochure to go tryout. He's helped me out a lot, is a great coach and I
think he's doing a great deal for me,” Cadenhead
said.
Matile believes Cadenhead has tons of potential, comparing him to two
players Matile played alongside who were actually
drafted.
“He's the best catcher I've ever coached and is just a
hard-working kid. If he continues excelling in the game, he has a bright
future,” Matile said.
“His knowledge of the game, his will to want to excel, his
blocking, throw downs and receiving. He's the type of
kid who always wants to get better and wants to know how to get better,” he
added.
Was the coach surprised Cadenhead
made the South roster? Not in the least.
“No, it doesn't surprise me. For one, to
drive eight hours to tryout for the team. And two, just to put himself in position of failure. A lot of kids wouldn't do
that,” he said.
While the game was an all-star game, with the top-notch
talent involved, Cadenhead likened it more to a
college game, as most players who participated will play at the next level.
“I was very exciting. It was very fun. I would do it again
in a heartbeat,” he said.
With what Cadenhead called, ‘quite
an experience,' on his resume, making the team should serve him well in the
future.
“It gives me a lot of confidence because I've been hoping to
get a scholarship somewhere, so it gives me a lot of confidence that I can do
something good,” Cadenhead said.
One thing's for sure, Matile will
be counting on his star catcher when the high school season rolls back around.
“My expectations for Jesse is for him to continue to help lead our team, be solid at the position we put him in and show the younger kids what hard work is about.”