Senior Sofran learns, adapts and improves behind the plate for St. Augustine

RICHLAND – It's one of those jobs that gets harder as you get older.

Elements get added. The stakes get bigger.

St. Augustine senior Austin Sofran continues to handle it.

“It's my thing,” Sofran said. “I started off early as a catcher and I just kind of fell in love with the position. It's not the easiest one to play. You've got to kind of control the game and you're in every single play, so it's really important to keep your head in it. If something happens in an at bat, you've got to shake it off and get back in the field.”

Something huge happened in his last at bat, in St. Augustine's 4-3 win over Cherokee in their 48th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic quarterfinal Tuesday. Sofran rapped an RBI double that brought pinch-runner John Podgorski around from first in the bottom of the eighth inning. An obstruction call at third base sent Podgorski home, and the Hermits had a semifinal berth.

It was the second hit of the game for Sofran, whose single in the sixth inning preceded Ryan Taylor's game-tying three-run homer. His day started with an infield pop-up, followed by a strikeout.

But like he said – he kept his head in it.

“I saw my stride was getting a little too long," Sofran said. "I just needed to get my foot down, get my barrel through the zone and that's what I've been working on all week, and it all came down to that and I got the job done. I didn't hit early in the game and I was just coming up there trying to do my job. I got into a ball and put it where I needed to put it.”

Sofran's first hit came in the sixth inning and was followed by Ryan Taylor's game-tying three-run homer.

Being a catcher gives Sofran a little bit of an edge in those situations, he said – especially since he trains alongside some of his spring opponents at Scanzano/Combat Baseball.

“I know most of those guys on their team. I caught them all summer,” he said. “The lefty they brought in there (Shane Sax), I knew he was going to feed me a pitch, I got my ball and I put it down the right side and got the job done. Being a catcher, especially, I know how the ball moves. I know what they like to throw, in late counts, and early in counts, and I kind of took that into account. I wasn't really expecting – I was kind of guessing what was going to come, and I was pretty right today.”

But offense is only half the equation.

Brandon Prince led off the Cherokee eighth with a single and stole second, but Sofran threw him out trying for third and the game stayed tied.

“The hit was huge,” St. Augustine baseball coach Mike Bylone said. “But the big play was throwing that runner out at third in the top half of the inning. We have a good senior group and we expect them to perform, and they did today.”

Sofran hooked up with a fellow senior, third baseman Bryce Oliver, to make a play in the sixth. It was still a 3-0 game when the Chiefs' Leo Bluestein singled to lead off the inning. A wild pitch and a balk brought him to third base, but Oliver dived to his left at that point to come up with Christian Park's hard-hit grounder, then fired to the plate. Sofran applied the tag and it stayed 3-0.

All in a day's bigger, more complex work.

“He controls the game for us,” Bylone said. “He's getting the job done. He did it last year and he's doing it for us this year. He's had some really big hits. We moved him down to the 9-hole a couple of weeks ago. He's a very unselfish batter. He doesn't care where he hits. He just wants to help the team win.”

Sofran was a .348 hitter last season, with five doubles, a triple and 22 RBIs. He's driven in half that number already this year, with 13 hits, including four doubles. He's batting .361 right now.

Next season he'll be studying business at Shepherd University in West Virginia.

“My dad is in business, so I kind of follow after him. I'm not sure what I'm going to do after that – maybe a law school or something like that. But I'm just thinking business right now,” Sofran said.

Dad's business brought the Sofran family from Reno, Nevada to Swedesboro, Gloucester County, when Austin was just getting his first catcher's mitt -- so he might also be wondering about the slopes in the Appalachians.

“It's not only about baseball. I play baseball and snowboard,” Sofran said. “I'm a pretty good snowboarder. I'm from out west, so it's kind of a thing that my family has done for our entire lives. I fell in love with that as well as baseball. It's kind of an escape from everything else.”

What it means

St. Augustine, the top seed in the tournament, will host fourth-seeded Kingsway on Saturday in the semifinal round. The other semi will pit seventh-seeded Lenape at third-seeded Gloucester Catholic. The championship game is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, at Pitman's Alcyon Park.

Unsung hero

St. Augustine relief pitcher Andrew Gaines held Cherokee to four hits over four innings after replacing starter Marco Levari. He earned a win as he struck out five and didn't issue a walk.

They said it

Taylor, on playing in the Diamond Classic:

“Most of us only got to experience it last year. We had a really good squad, and had a heartbreaking loss to Williamstown. We just want to come out here and prove to everybody what we're capable of.”

Sofran, on bouncing back from Monday's loss to Vineland:

“I don't think we were really expecting to go undefeated. There's always a game like that, where it gets out of hand and you lose. You have to bounce back from your losses. We're not worried about being undefeated. We want to win a state championship.”

John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, Courier Post and The Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com or follow on Twitter @JohnLewis19. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: St. Augustine senior learning, adapting and hitting as his game grows