After graduating six regulars, Evergreen Park baseball has a new look this spring.
But there’s still a familiar face back in the No. 3 spot in the batting order: senior first baseman Cadyn Kummer.
The Mustangs started 6-3 with Kummer playing a big role — he was hitting .545 with 10 RBIs and seven runs as he and his teammates navigated around some ugly spring weather.
But the cold and wind and rain is less of an issue for Evergreen Park than for some teams because it has an all-turf field.
“It’s been really cold for us lately,” Kummer said after an 8-1 home win against Bloom on April 1. “It’s not been great weather throughout the whole season, so we’ve just been getting adapted to it. Thank God we have this field, so we get to play games (on days) like this.”
Kummer went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, two runs and two RBIs against Bloom, continuing his hot start. Luis Ayala was 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs for the Mustangs, while Noah Munoz and Michael Koziczkowski both added two RBIs. Starter Ian Mora pitched four no-hit innings, allowing no runs and striking out four.
“I’ve just been taking my approach to stay middle, right-center,” Kummer said.
Kummer also will be on the mound for some of the Mustangs’ more important games this spring.
“He’s kind of one of our big arms … ” Evergreen Park coach Andrew Massey said. “So he’s gonna see a lot of conference starts. And when we play the Catholic schools he’ll be on the mound.
“He’s one of our leaders and we rely on him in big situations, whether it’s on the mound or at the plate with guys in scoring position.”
Unlike a lot of high-school athletes, Kummer has always focused on one sport.
What made baseball the one for him?
“You can (succeed) three times out of 10 and still have a successful career,” Kummer said. “You can’t do that in any other sport.”
He spent the offseason working on both hitting and pitching, including building a bigger repertoire.
“Last year I was really heavy fastball,” Kummer said. “Now I have three pitches — four pitches some days.”
He’s hoping that helps the Mustangs have another successful season. A fourth straight year of at least 20 wins is a goal, as is earning the program’s first regional title since winning three straight from 2015-17.
“We lost a lot of big pieces to our team (from) last year,” Kummer said. “But we’ve really adapted to what we have. And we have such a big bond because we all live in the same community.
“It’s really fun playing with these guys.”