LODEN FOR BEAR
Lake Central grad puts power to test with wood bat in MCL
If there is one thing Doug Loden has learned this summer, it’s this: Squaring up a baseball with a wood bat is no easy task.
“The pros make it look easy because those guys are elite hitters,” Loden said. “(A) wood bat can either make you or break you as a real, true hitter. … The barrel’s not that big. The sweet spot’s not that big.”
Loden, a 2020 Lake Central graduate, has played in wood bat tournaments in the past, but he has had an extended opportunity to hit with the bats that are used in professional baseball while playing with the MCL Minutemen of the Midwest Collegiate League this summer.
Loden’s efforts at the plate have showcased the ability he flashed at Lake Central and during his freshman season at Joliet Junior
College, where he tied for the most home runs in National Junior College Athletic Association Division III with 16. He also had 63 RBIs, tying for second. He was named to the NJCAA All-Region 4 first team.
The power he generates with his left-handed swing has helped the Minutemen. He hit two home runs, including a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, in a 5-4 win against the Chicago American Giants on July 22. He was named the MCL player of the week on Monday in large part for his contributions in that game.
“He has a beautiful swing from the left-hand side,” said Minutemen manager Deandre Gilmore, a Gavit graduate. “He’s not a guy that’s trying to lift the ball. He’s just trying to hit a ball hard. His hands are lightning fast, lightning quick. He barrels it up, it goes a long way.”
A pitcher and hitter at Joliet Junior College, Loden played in 56
of the Wolves’ 59 games this past season. Coming into the summer, he wasn’t sure whether he would try to find somewhere to play or just focus on training for his sophomore season.
After discussing it with his college coaches and his father, Loden decided the opportunity to get some extra at-bats would be beneficial.
“You’re seeing more live pitching, so you’re seeing the arm angle, what the pitcher’s throwing, you’re thinking what the pitcher’s thinking,” Loden said. “For me, being a pitcher and a hitter, I kind of have the leverage, but I’m also still learning as a young baseball player.”
This summer has been a continuation of that learning process. He said he felt good about a number of his at-bats, but just as many could have been better. Nonetheless, Loden played well enough to be picked for the MCL All-Star
Game. Through Thursday, he was hitting .262 with five home runs and 25 RBIs.
“A lot of guys are just throwing him (breaking balls), but when you miss with that fastball, he’s going make you pay,” Gilmore said. “He made the All-Star team in the MCL, and he put on a show in batting practice, hitting six bombs about 370 (feet) to right field. He’s just a really talented kid.”
Loden also had success on the mound for Joliet. He went 5-5 with a 5.53 ERA in 71 ⅔ innings, striking out 76 and walking 36.
Loden remains focused on improving himself.
“I like to consider myself a good slugger, but I also like to work on things,” he said. “I know I’m not perfect in everything, and I know I have stuff to work on.”