Featherston Continues Shortstop Tradition At TCU
6/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 23, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. -- Shortstop is a position universally known for being the most necessary in having stability and leadership.
In the past five years, TCU has seen only two starting shortstops, beginning with Bryan Kervin (2006-08), with the last two seasons controlled by sophomore Taylor Featherston.
"It's one of the reasons I came here," said Featherston. "We had Kervin and he left, and there was an opening for shortstop and I came in."
The Katy, Texas, native has fully embraced his role of being an infield leader for the Horned Frogs, a team whose defensive strength has been strongly displayed throughout the season.
"For my entire life, I've always been at shortstop," said Featherston.
Featherston's leadership mentality has never been more evident than in the postseason, where the Frogs swept the Fort Worth Regional and took down No. 2 national seed Texas in Austin, en route to TCU's first-ever trip to the College World Series. He feels the Frogs will not be impeded by their loss to UCLA on Monday and will be ready to go against Florida State in an elimination game on Wednesday.
"We've faced the best arms all year long," said Featherston. "We haven't lost more than two games in a row all year. As a balanced team, we'll get back out there on Wednesday."
In just two seasons, since starting as a true freshman in 2009, Featherston has shown the ability to raise his performance in the postseason. He homered last year in the Austin Super Regional and went on a tear in the 2010 Fort Worth Regional, hitting .583 (7-for-12) with eight RBI, including two triples and a home run, while also drawing four walks to earn MVP honors.
Featherston has also made his mark with the glove, including the No. 2 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter Saturday.
"Taylor can change games right now on defense," said TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle following the Fort Worth Regional. "He's playing with so much confidence out there and when he plays with confidence, he's as good as anyone in the country."
On Monday night, Featherston initiated what many past-CWS attendees have called one of the greatest audible roars in the stadium's history. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh, he connected for a three-run triple to left-center on a 3-2 pitch from UCLA starter Gerrit Cole, a former first-round selection of the New York Yankees, which cut the Frogs' deficit to 5-3.
"I couldn't even hear myself think," said Featherston. "When he threw the change-up, I put a good swing on it and it fell in. I thought the center fielder may have caught it, because he has great range."
As he looks back on his TCU career so far, Featherston thinks highly of Kervin for the standards he set to help him achieve his full potential in his first two years with the Frogs.
"He came in and kind of set the tone," said Featherston. "He left big shoes to fill and was a great player."
By David Cohen, GoFrogs.com
