Purdue freshman Brody Chrisman playing his heart out with Catfish

Even on what was supposed to be his day off, Brody Chrisman still finds a way to ignite the Cape Catfish.

Chrisman entered Thursday’s game in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Catfish down 8-6 to REX Baseball. With one sizzling swing, he tied the game with a two-run double and later scored to give the Catfish a 9-8 lead.

Chrisman has driven in a run in six of the first eight games of the season. Each time, all of Capaha Field erupted in excitement, yet coming close to matching his level of euphoria.

Cape Catfish outfielder Brody Chrisman returns to the dugout during a game against the Danville Dans on Wednesday at Capaha Field. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

“I want to play my heart out, give everything I got really,” Chrisman said. I mean, feeling that ball off the barrel, man, it’s just electrifying. It’s amazing. I love the feeling.”

Chrisman later scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on a three-run double by catcher Landon Godsey. The Catfish won 13-11 to continue their hot start with now an eight-game winning streak.

Through the first eight games of the Prospect League season, Chrisman is batting .469 with two home runs, 15 RBIs, and 11 runs scored. He spent his entire freshman season on the bench at Purdue and is thriving in the playing time he’s receiving this summer.

“It’s just taking what the game gives you,” Chrisman said. “I thoroughly believe that God has His blessings and just about everything we do. And while it may have been quite a bit of a struggle to not play or not get the opportunity to go into the games during school ball season, I think that was all part of the process. I think that’s ultimately what led me here, what gave me the ability and the drive to want to play every night.”

Chrisman entered Purdue as a slender 6-3 outfielder coming off being named first-team all-state and an IHSBCA North/South All-Star as a high school senior in suburban Indianapolis. He is the latest proof that Power-5 college programs have a way of transforming freshmen.

“It’s ridiculous how much I grew while I was at Purdue,” Chrisman said. “The facilities there, everything that we’ve got there, including our strength coach Ty Webb, they’ve done nothing but helped me advance my game and advanced my level of play. I mean, I went in at 187lbs and now I weigh about 211lbs. I mean, the food options there, everything we have, it’s just unreal. That’s allowed me to become more physical, hit the ball harder, farther, and I’d like to say that improved as a player as well just even the little things in practice.”

The Catfish lead the Prospect League with an 8-0 record. Manager Scott Little talked about how impressed he was about how quickly the Catfish came together as a team after Monday’s win over the O’Fallon Hoots. Chrisman agrees with that sentiment on the Catfish clubhouse.

“It seems like everybody’s coming together pretty naturally,” Chrisman said. “It just seemed like everybody’s so welcoming with open arms and it’s just like, we’re all accepting. We’re here to play the same game and have a good time doing it.”

The Carfish travel north of I55 on Saturday to take on the O’Fallon Hoots.