Naperville Central senior catcher Ashton Feldott finally got his chance to play varsity baseball this season.
Feldott surprised his coaches with how quickly he took advantage of the opportunity.
“At the start of the season, we weren’t planning on him being the starting catcher,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said. “He was one of the catchers but not a starter.
“It’s just a wonderful thing that he worked so hard in getting stronger. He grew into the diamond, and after the first two weeks of games, it became evident that he was our guy, and the pitchers were telling us just how good he is. Ashton has been a great story for us.”
Feldott’s athletic story begins with his sister, Maddie, who is six years older. A four-year varsity soccer player at Naperville Central, she later played at St. Ambrose and has become a Wheaton police officer.
“She was a varsity athlete as a freshman, so she was with older people, and she learned a lot of things that she’s brought down to me,” Feldott said. “I became a lot more disciplined because of her and just the work ethic that she had to play in college. I can only thank her for what she did for me and my athletic career.”
Maddie Feldott has attended many of Ashton’s games, including several during Naperville Central’s run to the Class 4A state semifinals. Ashton Feldott has been an unheralded catalyst for the Redhawks (30-9), who have won 15 games in a row and will play Maine South (25-15) at Slammers Stadium in Joliet at 4 p.m. Friday.
“He’s been great,” Stock said. “He has shut down most teams’ running games. Ash has been so solid back there receiving and throwing guys out that even in conference play where they get to learn a lot about us with three games, no one has taken advantage of us because Ash doesn’t allow it.
“He’s gotten very good at making accurate throws. He’s not perfect, but teams look at him and they say, ‘The catcher is tough to run on.’”
Feldott, a Benedictine commit, has caught 12 would-be base stealers this season.
“He stops them from stealing,” Stock said. “It runs in the blood. I love it.”
Senior left-hander Max Henson is one of the pitchers who appreciate Feldott’s efforts.
“I’ve been working with Ash pretty much my entire life,” Henson said. “He’s one of my best friends.
“What I admire about him is he’s a really hard worker. He just does his best every time. He always puts his heart out on the field.”
While Feldott, who is batting .179 with two home runs in 39 at-bats, said his hitting “isn’t anything special,” his receiving skills definitely are. He’s terrific at framing pitches for the staff, which also includes senior right-hander Grant Umbright and junior right-hander Decker McDonald.
“I was taught that the most important thing a catcher does is he makes the guy standing behind him say, ‘Strike,’ and Ash has done a great job of that,” Stock said. “He works well with the umpires.
“He is also very honest. When we say, ‘Are we getting squeezed?’ or, ‘Was that a strike?’ and he’s like, ‘No, that was outside,’ he’ll set us straight, and I love that about him.”
Feldott’s framing ability comes from his grasp of catching with one knee down. On many pitches, his right leg is fully extended. The technique has become commonplace in recent years, although it’s challenging to use with runners on base.
“It’s a lot easier for me to steal strikes on the lower pitches, and I just feel a lot more comfortable,” Feldott said. “When I have my knee all the way out, I get to the point where my butt is on the ground, and I can get low enough to get those low change-ups that Grant throws.
“I want to get to the point where I can get my other knee down, but I’m not really as comfortable with that, so I try to keep the one knee down and then pop up from there and go. I’m still able to throw some guys out.”
Feldott’s agility gives the Redhawks an advantage.
“It’s very important,” Henson said. “He’s always getting strikes for us on calls that could go either way and usually that can kind of dictate the game. It’s really impressive.”
Feldott is impressed with what the Redhawks have done to reach the state semifinals for the first time since they won it all in 2010.
“I’ve just had so much fun,” he said. “I’ve been playing with these guys my whole life.
“It’s great to be in the position we are. It’s a feeling like no other to know that we’re in the final four of the state in 4A.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
