Student of the game

PALMER — After two years away from home, 27 games in the Hermon Brothers Field dugout and a lifetime as a Mat-Su baseball fan, Wes Smith stepped up to the plate for his first official at bat with the Mat-Su Miners.

And the Mat-Su bullpen catcher came through.

Smith sent a ground ball to third base to drive in Mat-Su outfielder David Alleman, the Miners’ lone run of a lopsided loss to the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Hermon Brothers on Sunday.

Although Smith dug his cleats into the batter’s box with the Miners trailing 9-0, the former Colony High School standout spoiled the Pilots’ hopes for the shutout and notched an RBI in his first career plate appearance against Division I pitching.

“Honestly, I was hoping to make contact,” Smith said. “I wanted to make sure I put the ball in play.”

Smith takes batting practice with the Miners — a team made up primarily of Division I players — every day. But there still were nerves.

Smith, who left Colony after two years to play prep baseball in Arizona, just recently completed his senior year of high school. At 18, he’s easily the youngest player on the team. And he’s months away from making his collegiate debut at Mesa Community College.

But even though most of his baseball peers his age would spend the summer on an American Legion squad, Smith opted to take advantage of an offer to be the Miners’ bullpen catcher for the summer. Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher and the Miners coaching staff didn’t promise playing time, and couldn’t even say if Smith would ever crack the Mat-Su lineup. But Smith did know he was guaranteed the chance to spend every day with college athletes playing in one of the most prestigious amateur summer baseball leagues in the country.

“It’s been great,” Smith said. “I’m learning a lot. I’m really grateful Pete gave me the chance to play for this team. I’ve got DI guys to learn from and watch every day.”

Smith played for the Wasilla-based Alaska Road Warriors American Legion squad after his freshman, sophomore and junior years of high school. He thought about joining the Warriors for a fourth season. But ultimately, Smith thought the chance to work with the college players and coaches was more important than the opportunity to play every day.

“Even though I’m not playing every day I’m taking batting practice with Division I coaches, catching Division I guys, guys who’ve been drafted,” Smith said. “The opportunity to suit up for the Miners is the opportunity to catch good pitching, and see what it takes to be at the Division I level.”

Smith, who aspires to be a Division I player himself, was thinking about his baseball future when he decided to take on the role as the Miners’ bullpen catcher, just as he was when he made the decision to move away from home after his sophomore season.

After playing for the Colony varsity squad for two years — he was first-team All-Southcentral Conference, hit in the middle of the order and caught every game as a freshman — Smith made the move to Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Saguaro High School baseball program.

Judging by his success in Alaska, Smith said it was a sign that he was ready to go Outside and try to get better exposure. During the winter break of his sophomore year, Smith made a trip to Arizona. He stayed with relatives and attended a baseball camp.

With the blessing of his parents, Smith soon made the move to Arizona, where he stayed with relatives and joined the Saguaro baseball program.

Smith immediately found his spot behind the plate as part of the Sabercat varsity program. He was named second-team all-region as a junior and honorable mention all-region as a senior. But most importantly, he had the chance to play in more than 100 games, where as in Alaska baseball players are lucky to take the field for a dozen games per year.

“Up here, baseball’s a club, but down there it’s a sport,” Smith said. “He have our own field, own cages, own facility.”

Not only did Smith see a drastic difference in terms of the resources available to baseball players, but the competition was also very different. One of Saguaro’s chief rivals had seven players signed by Division I programs, Smith said.

Smith’s time at Saguaro has already led to a spot on a college baseball roster. In the fall, Smith is slated to start at catcher for the Mesa CC program. Smith said the team has been in need of a defensive-minded catcher, and the Mesa coaching staff has given him the chance to try to fill the void.

“I went and tried out for them, and they told me they’d love me to come back,” Smith said. “They’re really in need of a defensive catcher, and they said if I’m willing to work, regardless of if I hit .200 or .150, I can catch every day.”

Smith hopes that two quality season in the Mesa program will lead him to fulfilling his goal of playing Division I baseball.

“We’ll see how I progress, see if I have offers to play Division I baseball some where,” Smith said.

But until then, Smith will continue working with the Miners and spending his summer as a student of the game.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.