SEMO’s Ty Stauss relishing responsibility in first season behind the plate

After two seasons of playing behind Andrew Keck and Wade Stauss, Redhawks junior Ty Stauss now finds himself with the starting catcher job for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball team.

Stauss said he’s enjoying the responsibility that comes with having the catcher job.

“I’ve always been a catcher,” Stauss said. “We had Andrew Keck last year who I learned a lot from and the transition has been easy, especially with Coach Sawyers.”

In Stauss’ first season in 2021 he made 20 starts in left field, in 2022 Stauss made 44 starts with 34 of those coming as the designated hitter.

“It’s a lot more of a team position,” Stauss said. “Some pitchers might not have it every day so you have to be the guy to get them up and get them going. That’s one thing I learned a lot from Wade. Wade was trying to be the same catcher every night for his pitchers, not for himself.”

Stauss said he takes a lot of pride in the defensive aspect of his game which he feels will help keep him in the starting lineup.

“Last year I was (the designated hitter) and that’s incredible because you want to be in the lineup,” Stauss said. “But, you want to be on the field. So I take pride in my defense and working for my guys.”

At the plate, Stauss said he used to overthink his approach, but Redhawks coach Andy Sawyers helped change his approach.

“You just can’t think,” Stauss said. “I used to think a lot.”

With Ty’s brother, Wade being in the St. Louis Cardinals organization it could be easy for people to compare the two, and Stauss said he welcomes the comparison.

“I love Wade,” Stauss said. “If you want to tell me I’m like Wade then I will take that as a freaking compliment. That is a compliment.”

In terms of leadership, Sawyers said Ty and Wade are different in the way they lead.

“Ty is more of a fiery guy,” Sawyers said. “He’s not afraid to hold guys accountable and yell at them. Wade was more of an emotional leader like he was more like give you a hug when you needed it and he was a great encourager.”

In a midweek two-game series with Indiana State, Stauss went 1-6 with a double and an RBI.

The Redhawks dropped the first game of the series on Tuesday 8-3 and the second game on Wednesday 7-4.

Stauss and the Redhawks (4-10) are back in action at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 10 when they kick off a three-game series with the Butler Bulldogs at Capaha Park.