Cade Abernathy

Athens Bible School baseball coach Bill Murrell could choose many different ways to compliment his catcher Cade Abernathy. But he prefers to let other coaches do it for him.

“This year in the playoffs, two different coaches of other schools made this comment: ‘We heard about how good (Abernathy) was defensively, and he’s every bit as good or better than we heard.’ That’s quite a compliment coming from other coaches,” Murrell said.

Abernathy, who just completed his junior season, said he put in a lot of work to improve his catching ability, and it has paid off in spades. He helped lead the Trojans to the quarterfinals of the Class 1A playoffs and was recently selected to participate in the North-South All-Star baseball game in Montgomery.

The North-South baseball doubleheader will be at Riverwalk Stadium on July 17, with the first game set for 4 p.m. The second game will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Baseball is part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s All-Star Week that includes softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, cross country and football.

“They actually announced it (the All-Star selection) on my birthday, so it was pretty cool,” Abernathy said. “I was very surprised and so excited. It was a good birthday present.”

Abernathy led ABS offensively, with a .533 batting average, 12 doubles, three home runs and 43 runs batted in. But it was his defensive work and work with the Trojans pitchers that really set him apart, Murrell said.

“I’ve always said that a catcher can take a pitcher up a notch or down a notch,” Murrell said. “Cade has developed into the kind of catcher that makes most pitchers go up even two notches. It is a luxury for our team to have.”

It takes a lot of work to develop into a great defensive catcher, and Abernathy has certainly put in the time and effort.

“I worked all offseason on defensive and getting quicker with my feet,” Abernathy said. “During the summer, I work out at 8 a.m., and during the school year, I get up at 5:30 and work out before school. On Saturday, I’d go to a catching coach and work on blocking and stuff like that.”

Abernathy has also developed a rapport with his pitchers, which also takes time to hone in.

“The main thing is catching a lot in the bullpen,” Abernathy said. “You see where they like to throw and how much their ball moves. So if he’s missing somewhere with his pitch, you can go out and say, ‘It’s breaking more this way, why don’t you try this?’”

With one more season yet to go, Abernathy still has even more room to improve, which is exciting for both him and his coach.

“I would say Cade has worked as hard as any catcher I’ve had in my career,” Murrell said. “(Being selected to the All-Star game) is a very worthy reward.”