Freshman catcher making right calls for Gorman

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, May 20, 1998 | 11:28 a.m.

It isn't very often that a team headed to a state baseball tournament has a ninth-grader in its starting lineup, to say nothing of a freshman catcher behind the plate, calling pitches and handling a veteran pitching staff.

But Bishop Gorman's Cooper Fouts isn't your average freshman. From the moment he put on a catcher's mask for the first time seven years ago, Fouts' maturity and abilities have belied his age.

At age 12, he began hanging around Las Vegas Stars workouts and catching triple-A pitchers.

At 13, he captured an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national title with the Bulldogs, a traveling team of up-and-coming young players in the Las Vegas area.

And last summer, the 14-year-old bettered that performance, winning another national crown and an MVP award as a member of an all-star club based in Memphis, Tenn.

So when Fouts showed up for the Gaels' first practice this year, coach Tim Chambers didn't hesitate to hand his starting catching duties over to a player three years younger than the team's top two pitchers -- seniors Jason Van Meetren and Paul Wurts.

"He's the most exciting and polished 14-year-old baseball player I've ever seen," said Chambers, whose club will open play at the four-team 4A state tournament Thursday against Carson in Reno.

"To have a 14-year-old kid starting behind the plate for a team going to a state championship is phenomenal."

Fouts, whose brother Nate is a junior pitcher for Gorman, became only the second freshman to start for the Gaels in Chambers' seven-year tenure. From the start of the season, the 5-10, 170-pound Fouts earned the confidence of his older teammates with his stellar defensive play.

"We didn't know what to expect from him," said Van Meetren, the Southern Zone Player of the Year. "We were pleasantly surprised. He's the best freshman I've ever played with."

For Wurts, Fouts proved to be the perfect battery mate, a catcher who could block the senior's hard slider when it tailed into the dirt.

"I feel comfortable throwing to his catching style," Wurts said. "My slider can get away from an inexperienced catcher."

Fouts' teammates also learned that despite his age, the freshman isn't afraid to be a vocal force between the lines. Rather than bristle at his suggestions, they came to embrace his willingness to speak his mind.

"I think they respect me, and it's a lot easier to work with pitchers who respect you," Fouts said. "I treat them as older people. I give input, but I don't argue with them."

"He doesn't speak to the pitchers as a freshman," Chambers said. "He speaks to them as a catcher."

Chambers also marveled at the way Fouts not only picked up the Gaels' system for calling pitches, but even began offering his own suggestions.

"We have a pretty complicated pitch calling system, and he had it down by the first week," Chambers said. "We give him some freedom to call his own pitches, and I expect him to call his own game in the future."

Although Fouts' skills behind the plate spoke for themselves, he struggled with his offense early in the spring, batting under .200 in his first 15 games from his No. 9 spot in the order.

But when crunch time came, Fouts got going. In the past 17 games, he has been one of the team's most consistent hitters, batting over .500 to raise his season average to .340.

Fouts, who now bats in the six-hole, has produced some of the postseason's biggest hits, including three in Gorman's zone championship loss to Green Valley.

"I think it's just getting hot at the right time," Fouts said. "I was pressing early on, and I'm more confident now. But my main job is to catch and play defense. If I hit, it's a bonus."

As the Gaels prepare for what they hope will be a state title run, Fouts is hoping the string of championships he's captured in recent years can carry over to the high school level.

"Success has come early for me," Fouts said. "I'm used to being successful, If I wasn't, I'd have a hard time."