Much more than a freshman
Cedar Creek freshman Kade Luker has pitched beyond his years this season, giving the Cougars another dynamic arm in their rotation. Photo by Darrell James
Age is just a number when it comes to Kade Luker’s level of performance on the bump for the Cedar Creek baseball team this season.
He may not even have a driver’s license yet, but there’s no denying after his recent outings Luker is steering the bus in the Cougars’ attempt at a playoff berth for the first time since 2019. And he’s got his foot on the gas.
In his last two outings, Luker, just a freshman, has thrown two complete games, allowing just 4 hits and 1 run to go with 15 strikeouts, including a no-hitter against Minden on March 16.
On the season, Luker has a 3.65 ERA in 27 1/3 innings, allowing just 16 hits while earning 43 strikeouts. Through three outings in March, he has a 1.19 ERA.
And it all comes after he didn’t even reach 10 innings on the mound last season due to injury. Now, he’s a revelation the Cougars will continue to depend on.
“Kade’s everything we knew he would be,” Creek head coach Chad Yates said. “It’s just finding that consistency of the routines. We’re out of tournaments now and we got him on a fiveday rotation. I’ve been fortunate to where I’ve known him. I grew up with his dad and knew him through his youth playing days. I know he had an arm injury that he was limited to and that’s really why the innings were limited last year. But he’s back at full blast. He’s still a young guy. And when he comes out here, he feels like he’s ready to go and keep the ball for the whole game.”
Pitching with that level of confidence might seem difficult given how little experience he had last year, but Luker credits his performance to dedication in the process, along with strong chemistry with his teammates.
“It’s up there right now,” Luker said of his confidence. “First game of the season, teams were hitting me and I regained my confidence back and now we’re here. I got in the bullpen, worked on my mechanics and my location. This offseason, I took a big jump – gained a bunch of weight, got stronger, faster. That’s ultimately helped me do this out here. And I know the defense is going to do their job, whoever is on the mound, and everybody is playing for each other, playing for Cedar Creek.”
The Cougars (10-10, 1-0 district) travel to face No. 3 Ouachita Christian (13-5, 0-1 district) in a pivotal district matchup tonight at 6 p.m.
