Radack out fast on run to majors

Springfield outfielder Collin Radack quickly has worked his way up the baseball ranks. After being drafted in the 20th round by St. Louis in 2014, the former Hendrix standout is tied for the Texas League lead in batting with a .368 average after going 0 of 2 in Saturday’s game against Arkansas.
Springfield outfielder Collin Radack quickly has worked his way up the baseball ranks. After being drafted in the 20th round by St. Louis in 2014, the former Hendrix standout is tied for the Texas League lead in batting with a .368 average after going 0 of 2 in Saturday’s game against Arkansas.

Hendrix College is renowned for its academics, but the Conway school hasn't produced a major-league baseball player in more than 80 years.

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Springfield Cardinals outfielder Collin Radack, who played collegiately at Hendrix, is very much a student of the game, according to Warriors assistant coach Jay Mattox. “We’ll talk about what to do in certain situations at the plate or different things he can do to be successful,” Mattox said. “He’s willing to learn and he’s willing to do the work.”

Collin Radack is nearly halfway to ending that streak.

At a glance

COLLIN RADACK

POSITION Outfielder

TEAM Springfield Cardinals

AFFILIATION St. Louis Cardinals (Class AA)

AGE 24 (March 30, 1992)

BIRTHPLACE Austin, Texas

HT/WT 6-3, 205 pounds

BATS/THROWS Right/right

COLLEGE Hendrix College

DRAFT Round 20 (2014 by St. Louis)

NOTEWORTHY Radack was a four-time All-Southern Athletic Association first-team selection and was the conference’s player of the year as a senior in 2014, when he led NCAA Division III with 53 runs scored and was second with 73 hits and 34 stolen bases. … Ranked second in the SAA in 2013 in batting average (.396), slugging percentage (.514) and triples (3). … Wants to coach when his playing career is over.

Radack, 6-3, 205, has gone from playing NCAA Division III baseball at Hendrix to leading the Class AA Springfield Cardinals in hitting in less than two seasons, an ascension Hendrix baseball Coach Neil Groat never envisioned but is not surprised by either.

"It's been really neat to see his success," Groat said. "To be at [Class AA] from this level and see him playing really well has been pretty cool. I don't think anybody would have guessed he'd have the success he's had so far. That's not to slight him. He's just had to put in a lot of work to get where he is."

Radack's talent has been on display the past three nights at Dickey Stephens Park in North Little Rock during Springfield's series with the Arkansas Travelers.

Radack, who was hitting a Texas League-leading .389 entering Saturday's game, had 3 hits, 2 runs and 1 RBI in the first two games of the series.

"Every level you move up, you learn something new," said Radack, who has gone from short-season Class A State College, Pa., to Class A Peoria, Ill., to high-A Palm Beach, Fla., to Springfield. "The biggest thing I've learned is how my focus level needs to increase. As the pitchers get better, they have better pitches and they're more in the [strike] zone. As a hitter, I have to be more focused on the pitch I'm looking for. I know that if I go out there and have four focused at-bats, I'm going to have good results."

Radack hit .288 last season between Peoria and Palm Beach, with 3 home runs and 40 RBI. That was after hitting .287 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI in 2014 with State College.

Radack was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, the first Hendrix player to go in the draft since left-hander Matt Blanton was taken in the 23rd round of the 2003 draft.

The only two Hendrix players to make it to the majors were pitcher Jim Moore, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox in 1932, and Dib Williams, who played five seasons as a utility man in the American League, last appearing with the Boston Red Sox in 1935.

Groat said Radack's work ethic is the key to his advancement in the Cardinals' system. That, and the Cardinals ability at spotting talent.

"They do such a good job of scouting, and they're able to recognize talent," Groat said. "They've got a bunch of guys like Matt Adams, who isn't your prototypical player."

Radack played Thursday night in front of family, friends, and a majority of the Hendrix baseball team and coaching staff before the Warriors hosted the SAA Tournament on Friday.

"Here's a guy who's a really good, steady player, which caused him to be overlooked in some regards," Groat said of Radack, who was a four-time Southern Athletic Association all-conference selection and player of the year in 2014. "He's always been very mature and very teachable."

Radack led NCAA Division III in 2014 in runs scored (53), and he was second in hits (73) and stolen bases (34) while hitting .401 with 3 home runs and 23 RBI.

As a junior in 2013, Radack hit .396 with 18 RBI. He ranked second in the SAA in batting average, triples (3) and slugging percentage (.514).

Hendrix assistant coach Jay Mattox said Radack was always looking for ways to improve.

"He would call me up and say, 'Hey, can you come in a half hour early today?' " Mattox said. "He left late. He would stick around after practice. He took pride in every aspect of his game."

Radack said his approach to the game hasn't changed much, even as he moves up through the Cardinals system.

"It's just an extension of what I've been doing and putting it to a bigger scale now," Radack said. "As far as my swing goes, nothing has really changed. It's just been my focus level and getting that in tune."

"He has all the tools," said Mattox, a former Conway standout who was selected in the MLB Draft in 2001 and again in 2003. "He understands the game. He knows what he wants to do in every at-bat."

"At a certain level, it is just baseball," Radack said about Class AA ball. "It's the same game no matter where you go. Pitchers get better. They cut the ball, two-seam the ball, fastballs are there a little sooner. It's the same game. I just have to relax and go out there and play."

Groat and Mattox both said they communicate with Radack at least once a week through phone calls or text messages.

"Sometimes we'll talk just to check in with each other and other times we'll talk about what to do in certain situations at the plate or different things he can do to be successful," Mattox said. "He's willing to learn and he's willing to do the work."

Radack said playing at Hendrix helped shape the way he approaches the game.

"I think any day you're on a baseball field and playing, no matter what level it is, you can learn something," Radack said. "You can learn something about yourself, about the kind of player you are, how you go out and carry yourself every day."

Sports on 04/24/2016

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