HUNTINGTON — Elijah Vogelsong wasn’t going to see much times at the plate until he improved in the outfield.
Little did the Marshall University junior know just how much his effort would lead to spectacular results.
The former Minford High School baseball star has started 22 games — as many as he played in last season — this year and become a staple in the lineup in left field.
The reason is improved defense.
“That’s one thing when I got here, I wasn’t very good at it,” Vogelsong said of prowess with the glove. “I’ll be honest. I was not where I wanted to be. In the offseason, when people would go hit, I’d ask if I could go shag. That’s the biggest thing I think helped me, getting live reads and fielding during batting practice, diving after the ball, getting to the ball.”
The extra practice worked.
Voglesong has just one error this season, and has impressed Thundering Herd head coach Greg Beals.
“He’s a great defender,” Beals said of the former Falcons star. “He’s leading us in RBIs and has six home runs. That’s great, but he’s a lockdown defender in left field. He plays great defense. He won the trust of his teammates and our coaching staff with how he goes about his work. A lot of that is done on the defensive side of the game. He’s a complete player.”
Vogelsong is tied with Owen Ayers for the team lead in home runs with six.
His 21 RBIs are helped by three triples and a .538 slugging percentage.
He bats .231, but reaches base at a .351 clip.
“Eli deserves it because he works his tail off,” Beals said of any accolades the outfielder receives. “That’s so rewarding for me as a coach to see the work that gets put in. He put himself in a position to be ready for his opportunity and he’s taken advantage of it. I’m really happy for him.”
A distant relative of former major leaguer Ryan Vogelsong, Elijah said he enjoys playing piano and guitar in his spare time.
He grew up playing in church and said he thanks Jesus Christ for his athletic ability.
The Herd has 21 home runs, ranking last in the 14-team Sun Belt Conference.
The long ball is not Marshall’s game most days.
“Coach Beals keeps preaching about getting the little things right,” Vogelsong said. “That’s a big thing. We don’t hit for as much power as some teams, don’t have as many home runs or extra base hits, but we get them when we need them. It’s situational. We’ll move guys over. It’s us playing team ball.”
The Herd did that on Saturday in a 5-0 victory over Texas State, using a bunt and two sacrifice flies to produce three runs.
“We’ve been playing well as a team,” Vogelsong said. “Guys are filling out their roles. We’re putting the ball in play when we need to right now and pitching as we should.”
* * *
Tim Stephens is a sports reporter for The Huntington Herald-Dispatch, as this story was used with permission
