These catchers make the call

What Cory Kay and Tommy Ricciardi are doing this spring is unlikely to catch on and become contagious throughout high school baseball.

The third-year varsity catchers — Kay for St. Viator and Ricciardi for Buffalo Grove — are doing something which is not seen very often.

Kay and Ricciardi are not straining their neck muscles by looking over to the dugout before every pitch for signs on what to call. They have built up enough trust with their coaches to earn the right to call their own games.

It’s a big responsibility to not only know the opposing hitters, but how their pitchers are working that day and combining those factors with the wide variety of game situations that come into play.

But they love being into the game even more than they already are.

“It’s a good deal,” Kay said a week after working on a shutout with hard-throwing right-hander Robert Romano against Hersey.

“I feel like I control the game and it’s one aspect of catching I love,” Ricciardi said Wednesday after righty Andrew Van Wazer allowed 1 earned run in a victory over Rolling Meadows. “I think it’s part of the fun of baseball.”

It’s a part of the game most coaches prefer to control. Even at the college and professional levels pitch calls are frequently made from the bench.

Kay, who has signed with the University of Houston, estimated he called 75 percent of the game as a junior with a lot of two-strike pitch calls coming from the bench. This year it’s all up to Kay except for a few select situations.

“Cory is really smart and he understands the game,” Viator coach Mike Manno said. “He knows Robert is going to shake him off (occasionally), but having a third-year guy behind the plate really helps. He’s like another coach on the field.”

One of the aspects BG coach Jeff Grybash likes about having Ricciardi calling the game is the rhythm he can get into with pitchers such as Van Wazer, Dan Recht and Kevin Dembinski.

Even though the pace of Wednesday’s 11-3 win at Rolling Meadows slowed in the last three innings the game still ended two minutes shy of two hours.

“Tommy’s been doing it for three years and we trust him,” Grybash said. “The big thing is tempo. The first four innings Andrew was motoring.

“They’ve all been around each other all four years in high school and they have a good understanding of what’s working and what’s not.

“For the most part, Tommy calls it and does a nice job. For a high school kid it’s a lot of responsibility and he’s really taken ownership of it.”

So it’s not as if Ricciardi and his starting pitcher show up without a plan.

“He understands and has a good knowledge of the game,” said Van Wazer, who is also one of BG’s top students and will play at the University of Chicago.

“We’re good friends and at school we talk throughout the day about what we’re going to do every time he pitches,” Ricciardi said. “Especially with the (opposing) guys we know.”

Kay has also used the knowledge of a variety of people from Manno to former big-league catcher Gary Bennett and former professional scout and coach Tom Barnard. First-year Viator assistant Joe Ryback caught in college after a standout career at Palatine.

“I pick all their brains and find something that works for me,” Kay said.

And most important, what works for his pitchers. Kay said Romano “used to be the slowest pitcher ever” but now is working faster as his shutout of Hersey lasted just an hour and 29 minutes.

But Kay and Romano have years of familiarity together to know how to attack hitters. One of the big keys for Kay has been formulating game plans with a group of juniors who are new to the varsity.

So far Kay likes what he’s seen.

“Our pitchers have so much more confidence doing it,” Kay said. “They deserve all the credit. I just call the pitches.”

Those are unique calls for Kay and Ricciardi.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com