Raising awareness: Hess trying to catch eye of college scouts
Published 2:25 pm Friday, July 2, 2021
Warren Arceneaux
Singer’s Tate Hess, an all-state pitcher who led the Hornets to their first quarterfinal appearance in baseball as a Class C school in 2019, handled a step up in competition this spring, helping the Hornets claim their first Class B playoff win this year.
Now he’s spending the summer working on his game and hoping to draw the attention of college coaches as a member of Team Louisiana Ardoin, a travel team headed by former major leaguer Danny Ardoin.
The team is competing this week at the Future Stars Series tournament featuring some of the top teams in the country. Hess allowed two runs in four innings of Team Louisiana’s opening game, a 10-4 win over Knights Knation Marucci Black. Hess started at first base in the team’s 5-4 win over Florida-based Arbelos Baseball on Thursday.
Hess was named to the first-team Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class B all-state team after finishing the season with a 1.60 ERA. He started both Hornets playoff games, a 2-1 win over Oak Hill and 3-1 loss to eventual state runner-up Elizabeth. Against Elizabeth, Hess struck out 10 in six innings and reached base on all three trips to the plate. In the Oak Hill game, he struck out 12 in seven innings, had two hits and drove in a run. He stuck out 43 batters in his final four starts of the season.
The hard-throwing righty reaches the high 80s with his fastball. He said improving his breaking pitches is a focus of his summer work.
“It has been going good, we have a lot of talent, a good defense and guys that like to get after it every day,” he said. “I’m just trying to improve myself as a person and a player.
“I think I’m better as a pitcher, but this summer my hitting has been coming around. On the mound, I’m pounding the zone a lot more and my curveball is a lot better. My hard slider is coming in and has been working well. As a hitter I’ve been working on driving the ball to right field and having quality at-bats.”
Hess said he is hoping playing in high-profile events such as the Future Stars series will help him earn a chance to play at the next level.
“I want to get my name out there as much as I can,” he said. “I have been contacted by Southeastern Louisiana so far.”
Singer High pitcher Tate Hess’ summer job is working to raise his stock and gain exposure on the summer baseball circuit in an effort to get noticed by college scouts.
