Going to Church
By Steve Behr

It usually takes an act of congress to get Watauga coach Pete Hardee to give up a game-time responsibility.

Hardee is not only the team’s head coach, but he also coaches third base every game and does not yield the position so easily. A former pitcher who spent time in baseball’s minor leagues, he also usually calls the pitches for his pitchers during the season — except this year.

Instead, Watauga catcher Adam Church, has been entrusted with that responsibility. Church, a senior, is in his second year as the full-time starter behind the plate and is in charge of what Watauga’s pitching staff throws to the plate.

It’s a responsibility that Hardee does not give away lightly. Yet it’s also a responsibility that Hardee trusts Church with to the point that the catcher not only calls pitches for the Pioneers’ top two pitchers — Jon Sharpe and Cal Hardee — but for the rest of the Watauga staff.

“At first it was,” Hardee said of it being difficult giving up the pitch-calling responsibility to Church. “I’ve called them in the past and I’ve really enjoyed doing that and enjoyed going over the scouting reports and going over what we wanted to do. It’s kind of fun, but I think that as a catcher, it’s good for them to call their own game. It keeps them in the game. A lot of time coaches are just playing Nintendo when they’re calling pitches anyway. The catchers have a feel for the game.”

Church is the latest in a long line of good catchers the Pioneers have had while Hardee has been head coach.

Ben Wellborn, Brian Tester, Kenny Coar, Jonathan Greene, Brock Robertson and the catcher Church replaced, Rich Minford, all have been solid backstops.

But only a handful have been allowed to call pitches.

“It’s all my idea,” Church said of calling pitches. “Coach became comfortable with that last year because we started that last year. My sophomore year, he’d call out a number for each pitch, but last year I guess he felt comfortable with it and it carried over to this year.”

Calling the pitches means Church has to not only know what his pitchers like to throw, but what the hitters like to hit. The first part of that equation is easier to learn. Sharpe has hit 90 miles per hour on the radar gun before, so Church is likely to call more fastballs.

Hardee doesn’t throw as hard as Sharpe and relies more on his variety of pitches and his accuracy to get hitters out. Church usually talks with his pitchers, which includes Jake Wallace, Will Littlejohn and Austin Story, before the game to see what they feel comfortable throwing in different situations, so there is a game plan in place before the game starts.

“We talk about what each guy has and what they feel comfortable throwing before the game,” Church said. “We talk about how to go after each hitter. Coach usually has a scouting report on away games, but for home games, we usually rely on batting position.”

“He’s got a good feel for our pitching staff,” Pete Hardee said. “I think it means a lot for them to have him back there. Pitchers are more confident when they have a good solid catcher back there who knows what the game is all about.”

Hardee also said Church’s easy-going personality helps Church get along with umpires calling the game.
“By the end of the game, they’re wanting to hug his neck and buy him a hot dog,” Hardee said. “It’s not something that he manufactures. He’s just genuinely a nice guy and umpires always tell me how much of a joy it is having to umpire behind him.”

It’s one aspect of what Church brings to the table for the Pioneers. His offense is another. Church leads the team in hitting (.482), hits (27), home runs (five), RBIs (18) and his slugging percentage is a whopping .804. In comparison, the next highest slugging percentage belongs to leadoff hitter Baine Martin, who has a very respectable .576.

It was no wonder that Providence’s pitching staff steered clear of Church by walking him twice last Saturday before finally getting him to pop out late in the game after an off-speed pitch threw off his timing. Church was a one-man wrecking crew Monday night, hitting a home run, a double and two singles in the Pioneers’ 19-2 victory over Freedom.

“I just try to stay consistent in practice and work on my swing and keep it nice and level,” Church said. “I just take a lot of hacks in practice.”

Church doesn’t consider himself a home run hitter. Instead, he prefers to belt line drives, which often carry far enough to turn into home runs. His .592 on-base percentage shows that he gets on base once every two at-bats.

“The home runs I’ve hit, I never really get under one,” Church said. “They’re usually hard line drives, which is good, because that’s what I’m looking for. I work on that in practice.”

Church knows that as an all-league player, and as one of 12 seniors on the roster, he had to have a big season for the Pioneers to make a run at a Northwestern 4-A Conference championship. So far, Watauga is in first place in the NWC with a 8-1 league mark and is 13-5 overall.

His position in the batting order, third, was one of the clues that Church is expected to provide offense.

“I knew batting in the three hole that I was expected to have a big year and carry the team by driving in runs when they’re on base,” he said. “That’s why I’m batting in the three hole.”

A NWC championship is in sight, but Watauga must beat A.C. Reynolds Tuesday, East Burke Friday and Alexander central next Tuesday to ensure a title. The Pioneers can actually lose one game and win the league because of tiebreakers, but an outright victory is more appealing.

“As Coach Hardee says, we have to go and win every game with a businesslike effort,” Church said. “We have to treat every game like it’s South Caldwell every night and we’ll be OK.”