Hunter Vansau remembers everything about the turning point.
On April 15 in Columbia, South Carolina, in the middle game of a three-game series against South Carolina, Vansau entered as a pinch hitter. With the Mississippi State baseball team trailing by a run, Vansau hit the first pitch for a double that scored the tying run. Vansau had another hit in the game and scored a run to help the Bulldogs win the game and the series.
Vansau is still delivering at the plate.
Vansau, a sophomore outfielder/first baseman, went 23-for-83 after that game to raise his batting average from .273 to as high as .315 before going hitless in the NCAA tournament’s Baton Rouge Super Regional. He ended his first season at MSU with a .297 average.
Vansau hasn’t slowed down since then, either. He is hitting .377 with five home runs in 18 games for the West Coast League’s Victoria HarbourCats.
“It seemed like after that (at-bat at South Carolina) my confidence was boosted,” Vansau said. “I just took that and used it the rest of the season.”
Vansau said he didn’t change his swing to affect a change, but he had an in-home advantage in other areas. Last season, Vansau roomed with Brent Rooker, who won the Triple Crown in the Southeastern Conference for the highest batting average and most home runs and RBIs — and listened to everything he could.
“Observing stuff that him and (former MSU shortstop Ryan) Gridley would say, I just took things they would say about their approach at the plate,” Vansau said.
Vansau kept those nuggets of wisdom on his mind and is trying to incorporate them into his approach as a hitter. He said that is his goal this summer, and he is trying to learn how to manage counts better and cut down on his strikeouts.
“Facing (former LSU starting pitcher Alex) Lange in the super regional, he definitely got me on a lot of curveballs in the dirt. I’ve been trying to build of those at-bats against elite pitchers and how they pitched me,” Vansau said. “I’m just trying to work on stuff like that so I can be sure I get my fastball and do damage with it.
“Rooker demolishes fastballs, Gridley demolishes fastballs, (former MSU utility player) Cody (Brown) demolished fastballs. They got ahead so they could do damage and help our team score runs.”
Vansau has been working under Brian McRae this summer, who grants his summer players the liberty to “be their own hitting coach.” McRae gives that courtesy to all of his players, but he knew Vansau could thrive in that setting. McRae is a former teammate of Todd Haney, who coached Vansau and told McRae of Vansau’s work habits.
“He’s a good left-handed bat that stays in against lefties and drives the ball well to all fields,” McRae said. “He’s been getting himself into good hitting counts and the league is pitching him a little bit differently now. He’s been getting a lot of changeups and offspeed in fastball counts, and he’s made that adjustment.”
Vansau finished second in the West Coast League’s home run derby. He hopes to return to Starkville confident in his ability to earn the starting outfield spot he had secured at the end of last season. He started MSU’s final 16 games.
“I think what I did this past season definitely helps. I’ve got nothing I’m hanging my head about,” Vansau said. “There’s so much I have to improve on in order to be what I want to be, but this past season definitely helps me out in terms of being a day one (starter).”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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