Healthy off-season benefits Alcott in senior season

BELLE PLAINE— A more confident version of senior Ty Alcott has been seen for the Belle Plaine baseball team so far this season.

Having a full, healthy off-season buildup has played in a role in that, something Alcott did not have his junior season.

Coming off a torn ACL recovery, Alcott had a small window of time to prepare last season.

“There were a lot of questions surrounding Ty coming into his junior season,“ Belle Plaine coach Matthew Mengler said. ”There was a period of time where we weren't sure if we were going to have him at all, which was then followed by questions surrounding whether he would be able to pitch or not.“

“He had a very short window of time to try and prepare for the season.”

Through eight games this season, the stats alone show having a full off-season has helped Alcott greatly.

“Having the whole off-season this year has allowed me to dial in and tweak things that weren’t working in the past,” Alcott said.

Alcott has been the top hitter and pitcher for the Plainsmen so far this season.

“This year, by having a full spring to prepare, we were able to lengthen him out to 100 pitches before the season began,” Mengler said. “He was also able to participate in preseason hitting workouts without any fear of injury, which has been huge for his offensive production this season.”

Alcott, through eight games, is batting .500 with 10 hits and 13 RBIs. From the mound, he has pitched 16 innings with 25 strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA. All stats Alcott is currently leading the Plainsmen in.

“I think the biggest area where Ty has improved is his confidence,” said Mengler. “This year, there has been no fear for him, he is just going out and playing. At the plate, he is our most consistent and powerful hitter.”

Being fully healthy has helped Alcott be much more confident this season and several of his batting stats have already topped last season’s numbers.

On the mound, Alcott is the team’s ace, and is called upon in the team’s toughest matchups.

Alcott is always striving to improve though, which as the lone senior on the team, helps to display a hard work ethic.

“I have walked more people than I would’ve liked,” Alcott said on where he wants to improve. “ want to limit the walks as I go further into the season.”

“I feel I’ve been hitting the ball well, but there is always room for improvement, so we are going to keep working hard to try to better ourselves.“

Alcott’s lead by example mantra has not gone unnoticed.

“I never have had to get on him to continue to get in the cage or hit off the tee, and he has taken it upon himself to get some extra work in defensively after some rough games in the field,” Mengler said.

Alcott has also been a big help with working with a young team that starts six sophomores.

The Plainsmen are 3-5 to start the season and 3-4 in conference play.

“The season has gone alright for us so far,” said Mengler. “We have let a couple of games slip away from us earlier this year that I think we would like to have back, but those experiences of playing in close games will help us as we move further into the season.”

One of the areas the Plainsmen wanted to improve in this season was hitting, and they’ve done so through the early portion of the season.

As the Plainsmen work to continue to improve, the team has a goal of finishing above .500 for the season. The Plainsmen finished right at .500 last season at 11-11.

For the lone senior Alcott, it will also be about making the most of these last moments as a Plainsmen.

“My senior season has been fun,” Alcott said. “It’s the last time I will be suiting up as a Plainsmen, so I’m making the most out of it, and I love the group of guys I get to do it with.”