Squirrels possess talent galore behind the plate this summer

At the high school level, it can sometimes be a difficult task to find a quality catcher, let alone be blessed with multiple players who can excel at the spot.

The latter is the situation that veteran Charleston Fighting Squirrel coach Michael Minner finds himself in this summer season.

How stacked are the Fighting Squirrels at the position?

Chaffee High School standout Levi McKinnie, who caught a game for the Red Devils in the MSHSAA Class 2 Final Four earlier this month, hasn’t even been utilized yet at that position.

“We’ve got four pretty good catchers,” Minner said. “Obviously, we can only catch one at a time.”

The Fighting Squirrels (8-3) will travel to the Jefferson College Showcase today before hosting the SEMO Jumbos at Hillhouse Park in Charleston on Wednesday for a doubleheader at 6 p.m.

For the majority of the Squirrels’ games this summer, Minner has used recent Notre Dame High School graduate Cole Lemons behind the plate.

“He receives it well,” Minner said of Lemons. “He has (played catcher) his whole life. He gets his nose in there and calls a really good game. He is a baseball kid.”

Lemons will take his talents to Jefferson College in the fall and has been very solid offensively, as well as defensively.

In a recent 4-3 win over the Missouri Bulls at Capaha Field, Lemons had three hits, including a double.

In the preceding games, wins over rival Southeast Tropics and the SEMO Jumbos, Lemons had four hits in the two games, including a home run and a double.

“We’ve got some guys who have some juice in their bats,” Minner said.

The Squirrels are coming off a 13-0 rout of the St. Louis Redbirds (and no, frustrated Cardinal fans, it wasn’t the Major League club), in which Lemons dominated the opposition, not from behind the plate, but in front of it.

He threw a complete seven-inning game and allowed just two hits and no runs while walking two and striking out eight.

Of Lemons’ 60 efficient pitches, 39 were for strikes.

“We have tons of confidence when Cole is (catching),” Minner continued. “He does a really good job with our pitchers. He is learning those guys, learning when to call pitches, what counts, and what the guy’s go-to pitches are.

“He is a competitor. He doesn’t like to be unsuccessful. We’ve got some guys, who I think are dogs.”

Minner has also tapped former Oran High School standout Nic Massey, who was Class 1 Second Team All-State as a catcher, as well as Mineral Area College prospect and former Dexter High School standout, Kaeden Kennedy.

“These guys really want to get after it,” Minner said of the group. “That is fun whenever these guys are competing together.”