Former Jackson High star strong - eventually - in Catfish debut

First-year Cape Catfish pitcher John-Paul Sauer throws against The Rex on Friday at Capaha Field.

Tony Capobianco ~ Tcapobianco@semoball.com

First-year Cape Catfish pitcher John-Paul Sauer learned quickly that the Prospect League ain’t high school baseball.

The former Jackson High School standout had his very first post-high school pitch driven over the left-center field fence at Capaha Field on Friday in a game against The Rex out of Terre Haute, Ind.

The Catfish fell – for the fourth time in this young season by a single run - this time 4-3, in front of 885 fans, and it wasn’t due to poor pitching by the young arm of Sauer.

“Seeing how it was the first pitch of my college baseball career,” Sauer said following Friday’s loss, “I just had to laugh. What a fitting way. It can’t get any worse than this.”

As much as Sauer learned NOT to throw a first-pitch fastball down the pipe to a college hitter, the Prospect League learned that its teams should be thrilled that Sauer isn’t going to be in Cape Girardeau for very long.

Sauer worked six innings, and allowed just three hits, one earned, while walking two and striking out four.

“His stuff is electric,” first-year Cape manager Phil Butler said after the game of Sauer. “It’s tough to say this about (a young player), but we totally expected him to go out there and pitch like that.

“That is saying a lot for a guy who is just going into his freshman year of college.”

After the initial two Rex hitters reached base, Sauer faced the minimum number of bats (three) in three of his remaining five innings of work and only faced four in another inning.

“He is an unbelievably talented young man,” Butler continued. “He’s got a bright, bright future ahead of him, and hopefully, a couple more times for us this summer.”

But that will be all.

Sauer will report to Tulane University on June 28, so he is anticipating getting just two more outings for the Catfish before heading to New Orleans and beginning his athletic career with the Green Wave and diving into his academic career as a pre-med major.

“I’m excited for the opportunity (at Tulane),” Sauer said. “But right now, we’re playing Catfish baseball, and this is the most fun I have ever had.”

The Catfish (3-6) answered quickly with a run in the first inning to tie the game and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning. However, The Rex (4-4) got a run in each of their next two at-bats for a 3-2 margin, before Cape came back in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at three.

With two outs in the ninth, a Rex hitter drew a walk off of Catfish reliever Jordan Riley before stealing second base and then scoring on a Cape error.

Cape, which committed four errors, managed just four hits in the game, paced by leadoff hitter Corbin Mallott, who had a hit, a run, an RBI, and a walk.

Breck Nowick added a hit and an RBI for the Catfish while Easton Moore had a home run and Carson McCaleb added a triple for Cape.

Former Jackson High standout Cameron Marchi, who will throw at Southeast Missouri State in the fall, threw one inning of relief for Cape and allowed a hit and one earned run.

Cape will host O’Fallon today before visiting the Hoots on Sunday at 6:35 p.m.