GALION — If Galion Graders slugger Austin Hathaway has any complaints about the newly-installed right field wall at Heddleson Field, he can take them up directly with the contractor.
They live under the same roof.
A junior-to-be at Division II University of Charleston (West Virginia), Hathaway is a product of nearby Fredericktown High School. His father, Kim, is the ‘K’ in DK Hathaway Athletic Facility Construction, a family-owned business specializing in athletic field design, construction and renovation.
Among the many upgrades the Fredericktown-based firm made to Heddleson Field during the offseason was the construction of a 16-foot wall in right. The dimensions of Heddleson Field — it’s only 300 feet from home plate to the base of the right field wall — necessitated a taller-than-usual fence.
The additional height — the rest of the new outfield wall is 8 feet tall — hasn’t seemed to bother the left-handed hitting Hathaway, who leads the Graders with three home runs and 11 runs batted in and is batting a robust .452 through the first eight games of the season. Two of his three homers have come at home and both were hit over the 16 foot fence in right.
“As a left-handed hitter, you kind of have to check yourself at the plate trying not to swing for that short porch too much,” Hathaway said after the Graders rallied for a 10-8 win over Licking County late last week. “Maybe I’ll talk to my dad about cutting the height of the fence down to make it a little easier for me. I wish he would have made it a little shorter out there.”
An All-Mountain East second-team pick, Hathaway has transitioned from table-setter to run-producer seamlessly. He was Charleston’s leadoff hitter most of the year, but has found a home in the heart of Galion’s lineup.
“I love hitting behind Joe Crank and Josh Kent. There’s a good mesh there and I’m starting to understand what is coming my way,” Hathaway said. “And I’ve got great protection behind me in guys like Braxton (Giavedoni) and Jarett (Smetana).”
The everyday right fielder, Hathaway has hit safely in six of Galion’s eight games. He has five multi-hit games, including a 4-for-5 night with a double, a home run and two RBIs in a 10-9 loss at Richmond (Indiana) on Sunday. He was a combined 5-for-6 with five RBIs in a doubleheader sweep at Lorain County last Wednesday.
“We followed Austin at Charleston for the entire of the year, so I’m not surprised at all that he is hitting the ball the way he is,” Galion manager Taylore Baker said. “He’s very aggressive at the plate, but he is under control. He knows he has protection behind him and when you know you’ve got guys like that behind you, it alleviates the pressure.”
After starting the season 5-1, the Graders dropped a pair of games at Richmond over the weekend — coughing up late leads in both games. Galion will try to get pointed in the right direction when it hosts Lima at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. The Locos lead the Graders by a half game in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Central Division standings.
Despite the two-game losing streak — Galion lost big leads late in both games — Hathaway remains optimistic.
“We have really great chemistry,” Hathaway said. “It’s a really fun group and we love being around each other and hanging out. We spend a lot of hours together and it’s a lot of fun with these guys.”
