Hitting adjustment for Karson Klauer provides more pop in the
Baler lineup
At the start of the season, the biggest concern for San Benito
High baseball coach Michael Luna was how his pitching rotation and
new catcher would hold up during the season.
Now his biggest concern is probably how far he’ll go into the
playoffs before having to meet up with one of the powerhouse
schools from the West Catholic League.
Hitting adjustment for Karson Klauer provides more pop in the Baler lineup
At the start of the season, the biggest concern for San Benito High baseball coach Michael Luna was how his pitching rotation and new catcher would hold up during the season.
Now his biggest concern is probably how far he’ll go into the playoffs before having to meet up with one of the powerhouse schools from the West Catholic League.
Although they’ve had a few rainouts, the Balers are currently sitting pretty at the top the Tri County Athletic League standings’ list – one game ahead of Palma.
A big part of that has been the offensive surge of senior Karson Klauer, who is leading the team in every batting category.
“I tweaked my swing to give me a little more power,” said Klauer, who has gone to a more closed hitting stance.
The result has been dramatic as Klauer is batting .500 in league and slugging a whopping .700.
Klauer leads the Balers in homeruns with five, doubles with six, has seven multi-hit games and has 21 hits. His 23 RBIs is one of the highest of anyone in the section.
“He’s changed his mechanics a bit, and has gotten a lot more patient this year,” said Luna. “He’s just waiting for his pitch and putting a good swing on it. He’s trying to lift the ball a little more too.”
So far this season Klauer has struck out only one time in league play.
“We had him spread out a little more and move his hands some,” Luna said. “Last year, he rushed at everything. Now he lets the ball get to him. Now, he’s not as fooled by the breaking ball this year.”
He’s also playing second base this year after handling duties at third base for the Balers the last two seasons.
Although he’s plenty big for high school athletes, at 6-foot and 185 pounds, Luna believed that the position shift would give Klauer the best chance to ready himself to play Division I ball in college, so he shifted him to the middle of the infield.
“He plays the position very, very well,” said Luna on Wednesday. “He’s made no more than four errors in the 14 games that he’s played. He’s very competitive there. As an inside infielder he likes the fact that he’s involved in just about every play.”
Last year, Scott Mead, who now plays for Gavilan College, played second for the Balers.
Klauer enjoys his new position.
“It lets me use my athleticism a little more and gives me a chance to show it off,” said Klauer, who isn’t sure yet which school he’ll attend in the fall.
One thing is for sure Klauer’s days of playing on the gridiron are over. After guiding the Balers to a last-second Central Coast Section football championship, the starting quarterback knew that he didn’t have the size to compete at the next level.
“My football career is over with high school. You’ve got to be huge to compete. Even playing third base most of those guys are at least 6-foot-2, so I moved to second base.”
In addition to Klauer’s explosive bat, the Balers are getting strong defensive play from senior catcher Travis Ross, as well as solid outings from the pitching staff.
“Travis has the complete package,” said Luna. “He’s blocking balls and throwing runners out.”
The other mainstay in the Baler battery has been left-handed hurler Breyon Canez. So far, Canez has beaten Salinas, Gilroy and defending champion Live Oak in league and has a 5-0 record overall. His ERA so far is a near-flawless 0.80.
When Canez gets in trouble, he is often being helped out by his younger brother Zach, who has proved effective as the team’s closer on the hill.
“It wasn’t really designed that way, but he’s doing really well,” said Luna of the sophomore hurler. “He looks real strong out there and he’s got a changeup that looks like a split finger.”
Senior right-hander Ryan McFall has also performed well on the mound this year and is 2-0 in league.
With all of the promise throughout the Baler roster, expectations have soared heading into the second half of the season.
For Klauer and the other seniors, it’s a last chance at winning CCS title in a Baler uniform.
“If we take care of the games that we know we can win, we should have a good chance at winning league,” said Klauer. “After that, I’d like to win at least one or two CCS games and go deep in the playoffs. This team has the chemistry to do it too. There are no outsiders on this team.”
