By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball junior Andrew Schmidtlein doesn't necessarily fit the mold for an ideal leadoff hitter.
Former Hayden multi-sport star Andrew Schmidtlein has had a breakout season for Washburn. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But over the last four games, since Ichabod coach Harley Douglas inserted the former Hayden star football lineman into that role, it's impossible to argue with the results.
"We were on the road and Trevor McCollum got hurt last weekend and really we just didn't have a true leadoff guy that we felt comfortable with,'' Douglas said. "But we knew that (Andrew's) a guy that will take pitches but also attack and he fits pretty well into that role.
"He's been really good all week for us and it was just one of those things that we knew he was going to give us the best chance and I took a shot with it and it worked. It's been good. He's done a really good job for us.''
As an offensive and defensive lineman, Schmidtlein helped Hayden's football team reach a state championship game as well as a pair of state semifinals while earning All-Class 3A honors and being selected to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl after his senior year.
But these days, a slimmed down Schmidtlein is much more suited to the diamond than the gridiron.
"I was roughly 240 pounds and now I'm about 190,'' Schmidtlein said. "I wanted to be a little more mobile and get a little faster. It definitely helps.''
During his first two seasons with the Ichabods Schmidtlein had trouble finding playing time, playing in eight games with three starts in 2021 and seeing action in 13 games with three starts last season.
But Schmidtlein has reversed his fortunes in a big way for the 27-19 Ichabods this spring.
Schmidtlein has seen action in 36 games with 22 starts and is batting .293 with six doubles, a triple, two home runs and 25 runs batted in while compiling a .426 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage. He has been walked 16 times and hit by a pitch on six occasions.
In his four games batting leadoff, Schmidtlein has reached base a minimum of two times in all four games while going four of nine at the plate, including a home run and a double, with four runs scored and six RBI.
"He's been very diligent and very coachable with what he does,'' Douglas said. "Where he runs into problems is he doesn't believe in himself sometimes. He's got to believe in what he does and I think he's finally starting to realize the level of talent that he has and what he can bring to this team.
"Iit's good to see him finally embracing that and going with it. He's taken off for us and been a very good addition to the lineup.''
Schmidtlein's most impressive line came in Saturday's 9-3 MIAA win over Rogers State when he reached base on all five of his plate appearances.
Schmidtlein delivered a three-run double in his only official at bat and also walked once and was hit by a pitch three times, one away from the Washburn school record.
"The big thing about our hitting approach is to find a way on, so if (the pitcher's) going to throw one inside I'm not going to get out of the way,'' Schmidtlein said.
Like Douglas, Schmidtlein said the big factor in his improvement this season has been in his confidence level.
"The key for me was just, especially hitting-wise, my approach and just being more aggressive, relaxing and kind of getting acclimated to the speed of the game,'' Schmidtlein said. "But really at the end of the day just being more confident in myself.''
"I'm really starting to enjoy it and calm myself down, slow myself down. To be successful at this level you have to be 100 percent confident in yourself.''
