At its core, baseball is a thinking man’s game.
Sophomore third baseman Cade Sullivan has been fully embracing that theory for Metea Valley.
“I’ve changed my approach a bunch over the course of the year,” he said. “But I’ve found out looking earlier in the count is helpful for me to get the fastball I want — to drive it middle, right side.”
Sullivan has been doing that to attack opposing pitchers for much of the season. In 31 games, he’s hitting a robust .475 with 35 RBIs, both team highs.
Sandwiched between junior shortstop Jake Kmiecik and senior outfielder Andrew Cronin in the batting order, Sullivan’s exploits from the No. 2 spot haven’t been a surprise.
“(Sullivan’s) very special,” said Kmiecik, who’s batting .432 at leadoff. “He has a lot of raw talent. He has a big body. He’s strong and he finds the barrel often.
“As he continues to develop and mature, the sky’s the limit for that kid.”
Mustangs coach Craig Tomczak’s batting order has been particularly productive from top to bottom, with seven others hitting at least .300.
For a young group that features just three seniors — Cronin, Danny Zorn and Carter Wardell — the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Sullivan sets the right tone with his work ethic.
“Sometimes we forget with his size and with the way he approaches everything that he’s only a sophomore,” Tomczak said of Sullivan. “I think the big thing for him is the way he approaches everything every day.
More Top Picks Best Standing Desk Chairs For Active Sitting
“You don’t know whether or not the day before he had a great game, an OK game, maybe a below-average game by his standards or our standards because he has the same approach every day.”
Brought up to the varsity as a freshman late in the season in 2017, Sullivan batted .346 with 14 RBIs in 26 at-bats over 10 games..
That experience has carried over for a Metea offense averaging 7.3 runs.
“Last year was a little stressful for me, being up on varsity as a freshman, but I did get to experience it,” Sullivan said. “This year, I could focus down more (on) how I play baseball and the way we play as a team.
“I think that’s helped out tremendously.”
DuPage Valley Conference play concluded last week for Metea with a series victory over Glenbard North.
Of their last five conference series, the Mustangs won four. They also took two of three from Waubonsie Valley, Lake Park and Wheaton Warrenville South.
As momentum keeps building for Metea, Sullivan has been right in the middle.
“Cade’s going to be an all-state player in a couple of years — if not an All-American,” Cronin said. “He’s a hell of a player. He really is.”
Blake Baumgartner is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.