“When I used to play center field, I could hear [my grandma] from the fence if I caught a ball from the warning track,” said Galena senior Wyatt Doak. “She gets loud, she’s enthusiastic and gets into the game but yeah, I love it.”
Like grandma’s cheers, a large part of Doak’s baseball success comes from family support.
“Sophomore winter, I got into a a good structured throwing program and that was like just game changing for me,” Doak said. “Three days a week just going up [to Rogersville]. My parents sacrificed their time and gas for it.”
Topping out around 92 MPH, Doak will be pitching for the Division I SIUE Cougars. But his talents range all over the diamond.
“He’s been a four year starter,” said Galena Head Baseball Coach Derwin McGownd. “Played the outfield for three years and we just recently moved him to first base this year on a permanent basis, just kind of helped protect the arm a little bit.”
He is versatile not only in baseball.
“I picked up track last year,” Doak said.
Juggling both sports in the same season, Doak says track is *just* a hobby.
“I got second state and high jump [junior year],” Doak said. “This year, I picked up triple [jump] and long [jump]. Long is not my expertise, I’m just going to say that. For triple jump, I’m sitting first in state right now in the rankings for Class 1.”
Being one of the best jumpers in his class is cool and all, but there is a feeling that tops that.
“I just love watching the ball zip past hitters barrels,” Doak said. “There’s nothing better in my opinion.”
Adding to that experience is the eruption of cheers from his family after each strikeout.
