Maryville Daily Forum: Eckhardt proves invaluable as catcher

Landinn is one of the two players that I wear their name and number on a t-shirt.  He's a remarkable kid and ballplayer.  Here's a neat article about him in the Maryville Daily Forum:

 

 

Maryville, Mo. —Northwest Missouri State's recent improvements on the mound can, in part, be attributed to Landinn Eckhardt's increased presence behind the plate. Since Eckhardt won back the starting catching job he held all of last season, Northwest has lowered its team ERA by almost a full run from 7.20 to 6.24.

 Aware of Eckhardt's defensive prowess, Northwest Missouri State head coach Darin Loe doesn't see this as a coincidence.

"He just knows how to frame pitches so well," said Loe. "He gets us a lot of strikes on both parts of the plate, and he doesn't have the strongest arm, but he makes accurate throws to second."  A St. Joseph native, Eckhardt started all 50 games behind the dish last year, but hit a team-low .187 in a lineup hat ranked near the bottom of the MIAA.  With the Bearcats trying to bolster their attack this year, Eckhardt was moved to the bench in favor of junior college transfer Travis Green who possesses a stronger bat.  He started just four of the team's first 29 games and pinch-hit in a hand-full of others.

An injury to Green allowed Eckhardt to regain his starting job, and he's seized the opportunity both with his defense and his bat...

Read more by following this hyperlink:  Eckhardt proves invaluable as catcher

Go Cats!!
###