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Ryan Cox
For The Telegraph/JAMES B. RITTER
ALL-AREA BASEBALL: Small School Player of the Year - Ryan Cox
PIASA - Thrusting too much of the offensive burden on a sophomore is something Southwestern coach Brian Hanslow normally prefers to avoid.
But with a Piasa Birds lineup that included proven players before and after, Ryan Cox was more than able to handle the workload he was given.
"We batted him in the fourth spot and we knew he was going to be a good player," Hanslow said of Cox. "I was counting on him to have a good year, but nothing like he had."
What Cox had was a sophomore season that puts him on track to scatter his name near the top of multiple hitting records at Southwestern. And it was a season that earns Cox recognition as Telegraph Small-School Baseball Player of the Year.
"He's a team player and he's not worried about his stats," Hanslow said. "He just a kid that goes out and plays hard every day. And that's what you want out of a player, but I'd like for him to see how good he can be. ... He's a pure hitter. And he can get better, that's the scary part."
Cox, a third baseman, batted .357 and led the South Central Conference's West Division in RBIs (43), doubles (12), triples (three), home runs (five) and slugging percentage (.652). He was second in runs scored with 35 and also helped out on the mound, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.26 ERA in 31 innings.
And while those numbers exceeded expectations of the player and the coach, Hanslow had cause to expect something special from the three-sport standout.
"He's the best all-around athlete in our school," Hanslow said. "He's a big, strong kid. But what he's done has come from hard work."
Cox's run production - he had 11 RBIs more than the SCC West's No. 2 total - was made possible, even probable, with a Birds lineup that included four hitters that made first team all-conference. Cox, surprisingly, was not among those four, but Birds' first-teamers Cole Lawson and Matt Watts provided ample RBI opportunities for Cox.
"That helped out a ton," Cox said. "They should get most of the credit."
Cox got varsity time in the outfield as a freshman, hitting .200 with two RBIs in 45 at-bats. And while he labored at times, the exposure eventually paid dividends.
"That definitely helped a lot," Cox said. "I struggled a little bit, but I finally figured it out."
A broken pinky finger suffered late in the basketball season limited his impact in the opening portion of the baseball schedule. "I don't think I was ready," Cox said.
But the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder was quick to catch up, supplying the most potent bat for the Birds' 24-12 season that included a perfect 9-0 mark to capture the SCC West championship.
Cox's pitching repertoire is currently limited to fastball and knuckleball, though he is working on adding a curveball for next spring.
The knuckleball, or Cox's version of it, came in seventh grade, developed during games of catch with his dad. It's proved an effective offering - most of the time.
"It works some days," Cox said, "and some days, it doesn't. It's not like a normal knuckleball that drops a lot. It's weird. It's kind of like my own pitch, but we call it a knuckleball."
Two prep seasons remain for Cox, who resides "out in the country in Brighton." And high expectations are not likely to go away.
"He's got to be our next big player," Hanslow said.
