Catfish reserve enduring offensive struggles following great JUCO spring

Cape Catfish hitter Ben Barrow readies to swing at a pitch in a recent game at Capaha Field.

Tony Capobianco ~ Tcapobianco@semoball.com

With the temperatures rising throughout the Midwest of late, there is no more important position on the baseball field to have depth than the one behind the plate.

Carson McCaleb has served as the primary catcher for the Cape Catfish through 15 games, but Ben Barrow has appeared in six games this month, including two games this week.

“We’re going to keep giving him opportunities,” Catfish assistant coach Nolan Davenport said of Barrow recently. “We’re not going to put the kid behind the dish every night, so he’ll rotate.”

The Catfish (9-11) embark on a three-game road trip tonight and Saturday at Clinton (11-6), with both starting at 6:30 p.m. Cape will visit Springfield (5-13) on Sunday at 5 p.m. before returning to Capaha Field on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. against Burlington (5-15).

Barrow helped St. John’s River State College in Palatka, Fla. To this spring’s National Junior College Athletic Association World Series, where the Vikings fell in the Final Four.

Barrow played in 43 games as a freshman and hit .286 with a .333 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .489.

“My goal coming (to the Prospect League) was to see some better pitching,” Barrow said of his offensive game, “and get used to that.”

First-year 'Fish hitter maintaining even keel through fast start, recent slump

Tom Davis

On Friday in a game against REX Baseball in Terre Haute, Ind., Cape Catfish hitter Alex Kowalski endured his fourth 0-for game of the past five outings.
"Baseball is a game of ups and downs," Kowalski said recently. "You can't let the down games get to you. Even the big guys go through slumps. They happen."
Maintaining that even keel has been...

That absolutely has happened so far this summer.

Barrow has been solid behind the plate but has labored to just one hit in 20 at-bats so far, though that one hit was a big one, as he recently cranked out a two-run home run against Illinois Valley.

“His bat has been slow,” Davenport said. “He needed that (home run) to get his confidence back a little bit.

“I’m sure he’ll come around.”

Barrow has been “pretty good,” according to Davenport in how he has handled the Catfish pitching staff.

“He’s been pretty good,” Davenport said, “considering how good our pitching staff is. He has a great arm at the plate, one of the best ones that I have seen.

“I expected him to be like that coming off the JUCO World Series.”

A St. John’s River assistant coach had ties to the Prospect League, which is HOW the Jacksonville, Fla. native ended up “driving through three new states” to get to Cape Girardeau. The WHY he is with the Catfish is to find a way to build on the success he had this spring in college.

“I didn’t want to have a time where I didn’t swing a bat for a while and then have to come back into the (college) season,” Barrow said. “I wanted to stay hot and see some live arms.

“But to have fun is really why I came here. I don’t know how long I’ll get to play baseball, so I want to enjoy it as long as possible and make as many memories as I can.”

The Catfish lead the Prospect League in ERA (3.92) and WHIP (1.42), and Barrow has stressed keeping the pitchers confident when he has been working with them.

“I want to be on the same page as them every time,” Barrow said. “I want their best pitches to be their best pitches on that day. Whatever they are doing, I want them to be at their best, whether I am catching them better or calling them better.”