At times, it’s just a matter of taking small steps.
That’s been exactly how Austin Moore has looked at it during his three years with the Red Deer Riggers.
The 21-year-old from Red Deer started out slowly during his first two years with the senior AAA squad, but this season he’s blossomed into one of the top hitters on the team.
“I really didn’t play as much my first and second years,” he said following the Riggers' 5-4 victory over the defending Sunburst Baseball League and provincial champion Calgary Rockies Wednesday at Great Chief Park.
“But now I’m feeling more comfortable out there and playing better.”
Moore has mainly been in right field this season, although he admits he likes centre field a bit more.
“I always played centre when I was a kid, mainly because I was fast,” he said. “So I would say I prefer centre, but I’m getting to like right field. I do have a strong arm, which helps when I have to throw home or to third base.”
Moore showed his arm Wednesday, throwing out a runner at the plate on a perfect strike to catcher Kyle Belich.
He did indicate he likes playing the outfield.
“I never did like the infield,” he said.
While his play in the outfield is solid, it’s at the plate where he’s made the biggest jump. He was two-for-three Wednesday, bringing his average close to .400 on the season.
“It definitely jumped this year, it’s a big leap,” he added.
He feels confidence plays a major role in his hitting.
“Previous years I’d go to the plate thinking too much …, worrying about things,” he said. “This year I’m just looking to hit the ball and whatever happens happens. It doesn’t get to me if I do strike out. I just come back and concentrate on the next at bat.”
Moore got into baseball when he was 11 or 12 and came up through the Red Deer Minor system, although he never did play with the Elite U18AAA squad.
“I was always the guy almost there,” he said. “But that was fine. I had a lot of fun and played with a bunch of my buddies.”
What he did do was attend the St. Joe’s Academy, which eventually led to a scholarship to a two-year school in Wisconsin.
“That was a great experience,” he said. “It was good ball and I learned a lot and grew a lot as a leader.
“My first year I had an older guy take me under his wing, The second year I was one of the veterans and I took some of the younger guys under my wing. My hitting also grew by bits and pieces, which shows here.”
Austin also looks fondly back at his time at St. Joe’s.
“I got involved with it while at St. Thomas, the first year they opened,” he said. “I then spent three years at St. Joe’s. It really helped, taking me from being young to the next level.”
Moore took business during his two years in college, but wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to do.
“I took a gap year this year and decided I wanted to get into education and it;’s something I wanted to stay up here and do,” he said.
Next year he’ll go to Edmonton (likely U of A), work on his degree but also play with the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks, who play in the Canadian College Baseball League.
“If you attend NAIT, the U of A, or Grant MacEwan you can play on the team,” explained Moore.
“It looks like a good program and once I figured out what I wanted to do I reached out to them and sent them some tape and they said they’d love to have me.”
Austin expects to play with the Hawks at least three years, which will only help him when he returns to the Riggers for the summer.
He’s enjoying his time with the senior squad.
“It’s good ball with a lot of good teams and it seems to get better and better every year,” he said.
Moore drove in a run against the Rockies, which at the time gave the Riggers a 4-3 lead heading into the seventh inning. The Calgary squad tied it in the top of the inning, but Belich lined a one-out single against a drawn-in infield for the winning run in the bottom.
Jaret Chatwood had a single and a two-run double and was intentionally walked in the seventh.
Kai Poffenroth, who pitched the seventh, was the winning pitcher. Tyler McWillie started and worked four innings, allowing three runs — two unearned — with righthander Nate Mountjoy working two innings of one-hit, three-strikeout ball.
Riggers, who are 4-4 on the season, visit the Edmonton Padres Monday and host the Sherwood Park Athletics Wednesday at Great Chief Park, The A’s defeated the Riggers 8-1 last Monday.
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at dannyrode@telus.net
