As summer approaches and the Wildcat baseball season works toward a close, two WSC freshman start to prepare to stay on the diamond and gain more experience as part of the Fremont Moo.
Freshman catcher Easton Leahy and freshman infielder Eamon O’Gorman, have both seen limited action for the Cats this season. They will be taking their skills to the Moo this summer.
The journey to find a summer team for these two started in the same room and began with a conversation with Brooks Kneifl, who played for the Moo in the past.
“He’s one of my good friends now on the team, and he knew I wanted to play summer baseball, and I just didn’t know quite where yet,” Leahy said. “I talked to Brooks about it, and he got me set up with their [the Moo] coach. I texted him and set up a call, and then we kind of just talked about it.”
The Moo have over 50 games scheduled for their two and half month regular season as part of the Diamond Baseball League.
O’Gorman, who played Legion ball before college, looked back to his past and current routine to keep him in the game with the busy schedule.
“It’s a pretty packed schedule, but really a big thing for me is at night get stretching in and then obviously eat good and just take care of the body,” O’Gorman said. “And then it’s also a mental thing…You’re just so tired from playing three games the days before but it’s just the mentality of just going and getting it and keeping on.”
Over the summer season, Leahy is looking to use the Moo as a way to gain reps behind the plate and catch all kinds of pitchers, but also in the box where he wants to nail down his approach.
“There’s a lot of things I need to work on,” Leahy said. “So being able to work those out in games is going to be super important. This is kind of baseball nerd, but when you hit, you have a certain idea of what you’re going to do, and I don’t have that figured out yet. So, in the summer I can figure out my idea of what I’m going to do when I’m going to the plate to hit.”
O’Gorman on the other hand is looking to focus more on the defensive side of his game and continue to get reps so he’s ready for his next four years of college ball.
“I just really want to kind of just level out everything in my game,” O’Gorman said. “I used to play third base [in high school]… and then here, second base was kind of up in the air so I just want to be able to play a bunch of positions, so in the future, I can just get in wherever I can… and then just get stronger and get faster.”
With the Moo playing closer to home for both Leahy and O’Gorman, Omaha area natives, the increased support is something Leahy brought light to.
“I feel like being close to home leads to support from my family and them coming to games more because it’s kind of hard for them to come to games now,” Leahy said. “So being able to get support from them, and then also to just being able to live at home with them. It’s going to be super nice and I’m looking forward to it… I feel like it’s easier to play when I’m at home.”
There is not only the family support but the support of another WSC teammate and connection between Leahy and O’Gorman.
“It’s just nice to have a guy that you just already know and can connect with,” Leahy said. “I mean he’s an Omaha guy that I’ve grown up playing with and against so being able to play with another Wayne State guy is going to be super fun. I’m super excited for it and it gives us a chance to show that Wayne State can produce good baseball players.”
Leahy, O’Gorman and the Moo start their season on their home field at 7:00 p.m. on May 28 against the Salina Sliders and then a three-game series against the Grand Island Fightin’ Cranes.
