GALION, Ohio — For Ridge Winand, playing on the infield has been just like riding a bike.
Galion’s part-time first baseman hasn’t played the position regularly since his sophomore year of high school, but the 2014 Clear Fork product has looked right at home at first this summer.
“It’s a little bit of a transition, but I feel great over there,” Winand said. “I played first base growing up, so it’s second nature to me.
“I was a little bit late to the team and (playing first) was a way to get onto the field.”
A rising redshirt sophomore at Ohio State, Winand has made 11 appearances at first base this summer. He made a nifty over-the-shoulder grab on a shallow fly ball down the right field line in the eighth inning of Friday’s 5-2 loss to Irish Hills.
“Ridge has been doing a really good job defensively,” Galion manager Taylore Baker said. “I like the way he handles himself at first and I really like the way he has been swinging the bat.”
Winand had three hits, including a double and a triple, and scored a run in Friday’s loss. He is batting .316 with five RBIs in his last seven games.
“I’m getting a lot more comfortable at the plate,” Winand said. “I’m trying to see it deep and hit it hard.”
The first month of the summer has been an extended spring training of sorts for Winand as he had just five at bats for the Buckeyes. He doubled in a run in his first career collegiate at bat in a 12-1 win over Hofstra on March 18.
“I didn’t see a lot of live pitching in the spring, so the first couple of weeks this summer were an adjustment period,” Winand said. “I’m starting to figure it out.”
For the season, Winand is batting .240. Half of his 12 hits have gone for extra bases. He also has drawn nine walks, driven in five runs and struck out just six times in 50 official plate appearances.
“Ridge struggled early, he has put together some quality at bats recently,” Baker said. “He is a middle-of-the-order guy who has some power. It’s just getting everybody on the same page.”
The Graders (5-20) rank ninth in the 12-team Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League with team batting average of .242.
“The first half of the year we got smacked around and we got tired of it,” Winand said. “We just decided we are going to work hard and play hard and let everything else take care of itself.”
