Highland grad Wiegman looks to build on solid freshman season with Lewis and Clark
2020 Highland High School graduate Carter Wiegman made the switch from high school baseball to college baseball this past spring at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.
It was a big change for Wiegman from playing at HHS, but the sophomore-to-be turned in a solid if not spectacular freshman campaign as he hit .250 with nine RBIs and 13 runs scored in 26 games played for the Trail Blazers.
“Hitting-wise I started off really well, and, about like I did in high school, I came out really hot and then I had a little dead streak in the middle (of the season) and then I started coming back at the end of the season. .250 wasn’t quite as good as I wanted to do, but it is what it is, so I plan to do a lot better this year,” Wiegman said.
Wiegman said his biggest adjustment to college baseball was not facing faster pitching but knowing what pitches were coming to the plate and when to expect them.
“If anything it (college baseball) is more of a mind game at the plate,” Wiegman said. “There’s very little time to react to pitches, especially when we go north and face teams like Parkland (CC) or Kirkwood (CC) because they’re nationally ranked teams. They have plenty of kids throwing over 90 miles per hour. You very rarely see that in high school, so you have to be able to judge what pitch will come. You can’t be sitting there thinking fastball the whole time.”
A steady and smooth outfielder for Lewis and Clark, Wiegman started the season in right field before ultimately playing in left field. Wiegman said, although he handles right field just fine, he was much more comfortable in left field as the season wound down.
“I kind of like left field better because it’s more line drives (that come that way) that I can track down,” Wiegman said.
Wiegman made his debut with the Trail Blazers on March 7 against Kirkwood Community College of Iowa. Although Lewis and Clark lost that game 12-8 it was an outstanding first college start for Wiegman as he ripped a two-run homer and went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
“That was a pretty exciting moment in my college career to get my first college hit, which was that home run,” Wiegman said. “I very rarely hit the ball to left field, but I did that time and it kind of worked out for me.”
Overall, Lewis and Clark had a challenging 2021 season on the field, finishing 17-30. However, Wiegman enjoyed playing with his teammates and looks forward to even better times with the Trail Blazers.
“There is no other group of guys that I would want to play with,” Wiegman said. ”We knew when to have fun and focus and sometimes do both at the same time. Sometimes it didn’t go our way. but that’s how baseball is. I am very excited to see what we will be able to do with a lot of talent coming in and also returning this year.”
Ready for sophomore season
In about four weeks, Wiegman, a finance major, will be heading back to Lewis and Clark for his sophomore year, and he has set some clear goals.
“If possible, I would like to hit very close to if not over .300 and I would like to like to top one or two home runs,” Wiegman said.
After his sophomore year, Wiegman is planning on transferring to a four-year school to continue his finance studies.