Barrington’s Redpath bad news for base runners

Updated: July 19, 2011 11:53AM

Nothing gets by Max Redpath.

The Barrington senior catcher was a brick wall during the Northwest Suburban Baseball Tournament at Stevenson.

In his three innings behind the plate in the MSL’s opening game against the NSC on June 17, Redpath made several blocks and was 2-for-2 in throwing out base runners.

From the batter’s box, he didn’t fare as well, going 0-for-2 with a walk, but Redpath did make good contact on a lineout to center field.

“If I had to pick anything, I would have to improve on my hitting,” said Redpath. “It’s the weakest out of all of my facets of the game.”

The Bronco ballplayer was impressive on defense during the all-star showcase, but he also knows that he needs to refine his game heading into his final season.

“There’s some room for improvement,” Redpath said. “After the walk, which was just looking at fastballs, it was kind of a dinker. I was happy with my hit to center field, but I feel like more of those would have been better and behind the plate there’s more room for improvement.”

Although the NSC exited the opener victorious by a margin of 17-3, Redpath took the positives out of the experience, including the exposure to the area’s top talents.

“If you look at the score, we play some really good competition,” said Redpath. “Even getting blown away by seeing these fastballs can help you be better prepared for the next time you see it in games. Playing against better competition as both teams did, you have to rise up to compete against the best.”

The main objective of the showcase was to give colleges the opportunity to see the top seniors in the area, a big benefit for the athletes.

“You get to play in the conference with your teammates with the guys you’ve seen all year play and you also get a chance to play in front of all different levels of college baseball,” said Barrington head coach Jim Hawrysko. “It could help you somewhere down the road.”

Redpath didn’t seem bothered by all of the scouts and the large crowds, judging by is strong performance in the first game.

The Barrington native didn’t have as much pressure on him because he was the third catcher, but it hasn’t always been the easiest thing for him.

“I was happy that I went into the game in the third inning because you get to see how it works and everything in front of you,” Redpath said. “I tried to stay loose and not get too tense or overthink anything because I tend to overthink sometimes.”

Redpath is also playing with the Barrington American Legion team, which is sitting at 12-8 just past the midway point of the season.

Barrington Post 158 has meetings with Mundelein on Tuesday, Libertyville on Wednesday and Wauconda on Thursday.

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