Owls athlete enjoys playing outfield

April 3, 2018

There is no place Bryce Colwell would rather be after school in the spring than at American Legion Field preparing for his next Seymour baseball game.

“I started playing baseball around the age of 4 or 5,” Colwell said. “I was in one year of T-ball and then I moved up from there. It’s been a really big part of my life. I’ve played a lot of outfield and a little bit of third base.”

Colwell said he enjoys playing defense.

“I’ll probably play the corners, either right of left,” Colwell said. “A lot of it is if there is a right-handed batter at the plate, and if I’m in right field I kind of shift toward where he would pull it.

“There are not many right-handed hitters that we play that are going to hit the ball the opposite way, and you have a good chance to get to the ball quicker if you’re shifting a little bit the other way. If there is a left-handed hitter up I move more toward the foul line because they’re likely to pull it.”

Colwell said communication is important in the outfield.

“The centerfielder is the ‘quarterback’ of baseball,” he said. “He kind of directs it and lets us know what’s going on and what we need to do, but within that if I was playing right field I could communicate with the center fielder on balls that he has because he can’t communicate with himself, obviously, so I have to help him and the left fielder will help him out too.

“That’s a big part of being in the outfield that I like; you get to help each-other out. It’s kind of like a family out there in the outfield. There is a lot of teamwork, and communication is key for a good outfield. If you don’t talk then you’re not going to have a good outfield. That’s just how it works. You have to talk or else accidents can happen, people run into each other. It’s very crucial.”

In the outfield, Colwell tries to keep the energy up.

“I really enjoy defense because, as an outfielder, our jobs are basically to run after balls,” Colwell said. “I’m very energetic, so running after those balls and running all over the place I enjoy that. I also enjoy being the backup man when we back up bases. I take pride in that because that’s telling the guys in the infield, ‘I’ve got your back. If you mess up I’m here to pick you up.’”

Colwell looks forward to swinging the bat.

“Our coach talks to us a lot about being aggressive on the first pitch,” Colwell said. “I think it’s very important because, to my knowledge, there’s not many pitchers that are going to be throwing you an off-speed pitch because they want to get ahead — they want to be aggressive toward you.

“In return, you have to be aggressive toward them when they throw you a fastball. We’re in a really tough conference, and see good pitchers and you might not see another fastball in the whole rest of that at bat. You have to jump on that first one or else might be playing catch-up with their curve ball or their change up, whatever off-speed they throw.”

He prefers to bat in either the No. 5, 6 or 7 positions.

“I’m more of a contact hitter,” Colwell said. “I like to put the ball in play. That’s what I go up there to do every time, is get bat on the ball and get it in play because getting it in play is better than striking out.

“If you get it in play something could happen, they could drop it or lose the ball in the sun. If you put the ball in play there are so many factors that they have to do perfect for it to work out right.”

Colwell looks forward to the final steps in his high school career.

“I’ve worked really hard to get to this point and be the player I am,” Colwell said. “We (seniors) are all really close. We’ve very committed. They include me in everything. I think we’re all very talented. We feel more like a family and I’m enjoying this year because everyone is really great.

“I really feel this season will be good for us. We’ve been very positive with each-other and that goes back to being close. We will do what we can to win as many games as possible.”

Colwell said he has enjoyed attending Seymour High School.

“I’ve really enjoyed being challenged, and I think part of that goes with baseball,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed taking extra classes to help me get smarter, and baseball has helped me get smarter and grow. I’ve loved my last four years. I’m really glad I chose Seymour. I love being an Owl. The coaches are very understanding that we are student first.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Colwell file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Bryce Colwell

School: Seymour High School

Parents: Greg and Lori Bentley

Sibling: Trista

Sports: Baseball, four years

Organizations: National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Riley Dance Committee

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