Noah West: Aycock's diamond general

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on May 1, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Few pitchers get the power to shake off the catcher.

Noah West does.

A player who knows opposing hitters better than anyone on the field, West has earned that privilege from Charles B. Aycock head coach Charles Davis this season.

If the catcher gives the same sign?

"He knows that's coming from me and he better throw that pitch," Davis said.

West's baseball IQ comes from where he spends the most time -- behind the dish -- when he's not toeing the rubber. Unlike most players who don't like getting bruises from blocking pitches in the dirt, West considers them badges of honor.

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The feeling was indescridable when West's father brought home a Mizuno MVP catcher's mitt one afternoon. West had broken in plenty of gloves by that point, but had never caught with a mitt.

"I just remember being so excited to go out and play catch with it, that's all I wanted to do," he said. "In the outfield, you know you might get two balls hit to you all game. I didn't like that. I liked being involved in every pitch ... a lot of responsibility, but I like having it.

"I guess after that my position was pretty much set."

Set it was.

West caught for every team he played on and realized his position is comparable to the quarterback on a football field. He learned how to control the game behind the plate.

But West missed one season that has been a driving force for him today. He cracked a growth plate in his shoulder from overuse and spent the entire season in a sling. His Northwest Blue team participated in a tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y., that summer.

West longed to be on the field with his teammates and play before some 15,000 fans. He suited up and took off his sling. His arm dangled by his side since he couldn't lift it.

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West's experience has helped him in other aspects of the game.

He's built a rapport with the umpires and studied their strike zones, so he he doesn't have to chase the pitch that's low and outside in a two-strike count that most batters swing at.

He's drawn 18 walks and hits at a .421 clip.

When catching, he watches hitters who are either out on their front foot or dragging their bat through the strike zone. Those tendencies become advantageous for him and his pitchers.

During the Pitt County Classic last week, West threw a fastball to Alexander Central's Bobby Alexander. Teammate Logan Brown made a nice catch on the ball, which could have been an extra-base hit.

West realized his mistake. Alexander did not see another fastball the remainder of the game. He threw a steady diet of curveballs that resulted in a strikeout and pop-up during Alexander's final two at-bats.

"I noticed that (Alexander) was jumping at the curveballs, so I just kept going off-speed, off-speed, off-speed," West said.

Those situations magnify West's ability and IQ.

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West and teammate Bobby Hampton have been selected to play in the Powerade State Games at UNC Charlotte in June. Nearly 100 scouts are expected to attend the showcase event.

But West isn't thinking that far ahead. Aycock's regular season ends this week and the Golden Falcons hope to make a run to the state championship series for the third time since 2007.

"We have what it takes to make a run, we just have to keep grinding away and playing smart baseball," West said.