From a young age, Yorkville’s Kamden Muell was taught to focus his hitting approach on going up the middle and the other way instead of just turning on every pitch.
That has served the senior third baseman, who bats left-handed, well throughout his high school career. Unlocking the power on the pull side was the last piece of that puzzle.
“I’d say this year I’ve hit the ball a lot more to the right side and I’ve been seeing an increase in power,” Muell said. “I’m just trying to keep that up.
“My dad always taught me, ‘Think left-center.’ It’s my way to stay closed — think the other way. When I get in those hitter’s counts, look for that fastball and drive it.”
The St. Mary’s Minnesota recruit showed a little bit of all of that Thursday. His two extra-base hits helped the Foxes to a three-game sweep with a 10-0 Southwest Prairie Conference victory in five innings at Oswego.
On a 3-2 count in the third, Muell ripped an RBI double to left. Then in the fourth, he turned on a pitch that turned into a standup RBI triple. He also scored three times for Yorkville (14-7, 5-3).
Kal Arntzen added two hits and scored twice. Frankie Pavlik picked up a two-run single, while Gavin Geegan scored two runs and Owen Middleton had two hits. Jackson Knickerbocker was dominant on the mound, striking out five for the shutout. He allowed only two hits and a walk.
Hunter Amelio and Luke Hernandez came up with the only two hits for Oswego (11-12, 2-5).
Getting Muell used to cherry-picking fastballs in desirable counts, meanwhile, was something Yorkville coach Tom Cerven has been waiting to see.
“The pull has actually come a little late,” Cerven said. “He’s usually middle to back side. We’ve been harping on him, especially in hitter’s counts, to get the bat head out to get on that pull side.
“The last two weeks, we’re starting to see that.”
Part of developing that aspect of his game is seeing results like he did Thursday. And it has been happening more frequently as the season has gone on.
“I feel like I’ve been swinging it really good this year,” Muell said. “To start seeing more line drives turn into hits, it’s a good feeling and definitely something I want to keep riding.”
After a collectively slow start with the bats this season, Yorkville is coming alive. During the Foxes’ four-game winning streak, they are averaging eight runs a game.
Breakout performances like the one Muell is experiencing have helped fuel that turnaround.
“He’s definitely getting hot at the right time and hitting is contagious,” Cerven said. “When one guy starts to do it, everyone else seems to follow.
“Especially these last two, three weeks, the offense is starting to turn the corner.”
Yorkville’s production at the plate was too much for the Panthers to overcome.
“They outplayed us in every phase of the game,” Oswego coach Joe Giarrante said.
“We have to dig deep and find some grittiness.”
Yorkville’s offense also helped Knickerbocker settle in on the mound. He stranded two runners in both the first and fifth innings but shut down everything else in between.
“All the credit goes to Jackson,” Muell said. “He absolutely shut them down. He got us right back into the dugout. He really dominated. We were just there to score some runs for him.”
Cerven also knew Muell had this type of production in him. It was just a matter of unlocking it.
“Ever since he came into high school, he’s had a good approach at the plate,” Cerven said. “There’s never been an issue with that.
“Now, it’s the mental side, understanding when it’s OK to take a big hack, to try to look for that pitch inner half and drive it.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
