KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baseball success knows no zip code.
Our FOX4 Hy-Vee Team of the Week has a star pitcher who’s relocated a few times, but regardless of where he plays, he keeps on winning.
Baseball fans at Staley High School have grown accustomed to that familiar pop when a fastball hits the catcher’s mitt. Staley High Pitcher Carter Rustad began his baseball dominance outside the U.S. mainland. Rustad said his family has roots in the U.S. military, and when they moved to Kansas City two years ago, they left behind Hawaii.
Rustad said his family is now based at Fort Leavenworth, but while his father was stationed at an Army base in the islands, Rustad was one of the only players in his league born outside the Aloha State.
“They were really accepting, which was really nice,” Rustad said. “It was really different, but still super cool, and a good experience for me.”
Since becoming a Falcon two years ago, Rustad is speeding away from batters. Major League Baseball scouts are often in attendance at Staley games, after Carter was clocked at 97 miles per hour during an early season game in Arizona. Rustad’s family also lived in Minnesota for a long period of time, and he said he dreams of becoming a Minnesota Twin someday.
“He’s a pitcher. The velocity is what catches everybody’s eyes in the baseball world,” Dave Wilson, Falcons head coach, said. “He knows how to pitch. He takes his craft seriously.”
“Some teams are better at throwing their bats out there and hitting the ball. I’ll use my changeup and my slider and my curveball. I use all those pitches as I see fit,” Rustad said.
“It’s not surprising at all. it’s just straight heat,” Mason Kever, who plays catcher for Staley, added. “He’s strictly business when it comes to pitching.”
Rustad said if he doesn’t accept a scholarship offer from the University of San Diego, he’s likely to go straight to the minor leagues. A lot will depend on how the June 2nd draft for first-year Major League Baseball players goes. Thus far in 2019, Rustad`s ERA is well below 1.00, and the Falcons have spent most of the season in the Class Five top five. If Rustad his way, he`ll help Staley to a state title on his way to pro baseball.
Come what may, this pitcher and his team, are speeding toward success.
