[Baseball] Cross making most of leadoff spot in Coyote Baseball lineup

Austin Cross (SO/Montgomery, Texas) was growing weary of not getting on base.

 

Cross, Kansas Wesleyan's starting right fielder, was in a slump and not doing what leadoff hitters are expected to do, which is get on base.

 

"A lot of times, being in the leadoff spot in the lineup, you try to get on base every time and you try to do too much," he said. "I was just pressing and trying to make something happen for my team rather than just doing what I do.

 

"I popped up, I think, every at-bat for two weeks."

 

Cross, though, got back on track with the help of the coaching staff and the results have been impressive.

 

He embarked on a 7-for-14 tear last week that included two home runs and drove in 12 runs with 1.071 slugging percentage in three games. His effort earned him Player of the Week recognition from the Kansas Conference.

 

Cross belted two homers, one a grand slam, and drove in seven runs against Hastings on March 26, then went 5-for-9 with five more RBI in a doubleheader against Avila on Sunday.

 

"A lot of times failure is what motivates people to get better and I'm not any different," he said. "I think more than anything I just wanted to focus on being productive for the team.

 

"A lot of times it is the coaching. They really talked to me and said 'you're a good player, you're a good hitter and don't worry about the little bit of struggle you're having.' They never lost faith in me."

 

KWU head coach Bill Neale said it was a matter of Cross doing what he does best.

 

"I think it's from trying too hard or trying to be perfect with his swings instead of just seeing a good pitch and putting an A-Swing on it or swinging hard liked we teach our guys to hit," he said. "When he does that he hits the ball as well as anybody."

 

Cross, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, is batting .364 on the season with two homers, 32 runs batted in, 22 runs scored and 45 total bases. He leads the team in RBIs, runs, triples (2), stolen bases (14) and total bases.

 

Cross gives ample credit to the bottom of the lineup for his recent success.

 

"Our seven, eight and nine guys got on base all week and obviously I wouldn't have had all the RBIs, I probably wouldn't have gotten the award I got, if it wasn't for those guys," he said.

 

Neale agrees.

 

"He's getting a ton of RBIs and those guys are getting on base and he's cashing in," he said. "Thirty-two RBIs in the leadoff spot is pretty darn good. Five through nine was great for us this weekend and against Hastings."

 

Beyond hitting, Cross has his sights a school record that's within his grasp – the single season standard of 27 stolen bases. He stole just two bases his first three seasons in high school, but after working with a personal trainer, swiped 24 his senior year.

 

Steals are a frequent topic for Cross and Bailey Watros (SR/Sandwich, Ill.), the No. 2 hitter in the lineup.

 

"He always talks about bunting me over to second and playing small-ball," Cross said. "I just let him know 'I'll steal the bag and you can do the rest from there.' I'm definitely going for the record."

 

Cross' sterling performance Sunday came with a special fan in the stands – his father Darrin.

 

"That was the first time I'd seen my dad in three months, it was the first time he'd seen me play a spring game in over a year," he said. "I really wanted to play well for him. I really enjoyed being able to look up in the stands and see my family watching."

 

KWU's the second school Cross has attended. His college career started at nearby Angelina College (Texas), but he didn't make the team.

 

He then contacted the coach at Division II West Texas A&M and was invited for a tryout.

 

"I called (him) because that was my favorite school coming out of high school," Cross said. "It was about a five-minute tryout, I was taking BP (batting practice), and he stopped and said 'you can come here.'

 

"I was getting ready to come for the next semester, the spring season, and they looked at my transcripts and my math credit from junior college didn't transfer over, so I was ineligible to play."

 

West Texas A&M's hitting coach at the time told Cross about Wesleyan.

 

"From the first day I stepped on campus I didn't want to leave," he said.

 

KWU's scheduled to play KCAC leader and No. 12-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan in a key series Friday and Saturday at Dean Evans Stadium.

 

The top six teams in the final regular season standings advance to the conference tournament May 1-3 in Great Bend. The Coyotes, who have won their last four games, are currently seventh at 9-10, one game behind Southwestern, which is 10-11.

 

"We talked about it after the York series," Neale said. "We're kind of in playoff mode and play them one game at a time. We do whatever it takes to win that game in front of us and see what happens.

 

"If we get hot I think we can actually move up a little bit. There's some teams in front of us that have some tough schedules ahead, which we do too."

 

For Cross, it's business as usual.

 

"Our mindset is the same as it's always been – just focus on winning games," he said. "We're just doing a better job of it right now."