Carter Claerhout always considered himself a “backside doubles” kind of guy.
The Red Deer native made a living through high school and the first few years of his college baseball career pulling the ball for power.
He says he had never hit a home run to the opposite field … until this year.
Claerhout has been on an absolute tear to start his debut season with Bellevue University, leading the Bruins in almost every offensive statistical category, including batting average (.443), home runs (13) and runs batted in (35) heading into the Easter long weekend.
His performances have been so good he’s captured three Frontier Conference Player of the Week honours and, most recently, the NAIA National Player of the Week on March 31.
The reason for his surge in power and productivity? Assistant coach Mitch Schmidt.
“Schmitty made two tiny changes as soon as I got here focusing on letting the ball travel a bit more,” Claerhout told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.
“He just said, ‘Don’t touch a thing, I’m going to move you in the batter’s box,’ and that’s about it.”
Not only has he hit double-digit home runs for the first time in his career, but Claerhout is also helping a Bruin team skyrocketing up the NAIA national rankings.
BECOMING A BRUIN
Everyone in Alberta baseball circles knows Claerhout is a very talented ball player.
A star with Red Deer Minor Baseball and a graduate of St. Joseph High School with head coach Jason Chatwood, the southpaw moved south to Prairie Baseball Academy, where he was named a Canadian College Baseball Conference second-team all-star in 2022.
He upped the ante in his sophomore season by earning first-team honours and was named the CCBC’s most valuable player after hitting .415 with four roundtrippers and 24 RBI.
Those performances earned him a move to Southern Arkansas University, where he swatted five dingers, drove in 53 runs and sported a .294 average in 89 games over two seasons.
Going into his senior season, Claerhout knew he had more in the tank, and got talking to a few people about heading to Bellevue.
Schmidt broke the transfer news to the baseball world when the Lethbridge Bulls slugger was being interviewed for the Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star Game broadcast.
ANSWERING THE BELL(EVUE)
While he knew what the Okotoks Dawgs co-head coach brought to the table, Claerhout couldn’t have imagined what was in store for him.
“The main thing was I just wanted to go out and have fun,” he said.
Knowing that former Dawg Logan Grant and current teammate Ayden Makarus had won several awards in previous years, Claerhout admits he had that in the back of his mind going into the year as something to aspire to.
He started his season on a four-game hit streak, had one hitless game, then came back with another nine in a row.
The first of his three conference player of the week honours came on Feb. 23 after hitting .875 with a 2.514 OPS, with four of his seven hits going for extra bases.
His hot streak didn’t flicker, as Claerhout had hits in all but three games in March, setting the stage for a monster weekend against Valley City State University.
NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The Bruins, who are the No. 3 ranked NAIA program in the country thanks to a 28-3 overall record and 8-0 in conference play, put their offense on display against the Vikings.
Outscoring the opposition 62-17 in the four-game set, Claerhout says it showed how good of a team they are.
It also showed off his dominance this spring, as the senior first baseman collected 11 hits in 15 at-bats, including a home run in each game and a combined seven RBI.
His first trip around the bases was also his 10th of the season, a first time he’s reached that milestone.
“I got a big hug from Schmitty and he said, ‘You needed me to get double digits,’” Claerhout laughed, adding it’s something he’s most proud of as he looks at his numbers.
The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Albertan was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week for his efforts, then a day later was informed he was picking up the NAIA National Player of the Week as well.
GOING OUT ON TOP
And now it’s onto April, where Claerhout hopes to keep the good vibes going, both personally and with the team.
He believes they are a force to be reckoned with as they head towards the Frontier Conference Tournament during the first weekend of May.
Despite being a newcomer to the team, Claerhout says it’s crazy to think about how tight-knit the group is.
“We’re really confident in how we are as a team and we’re never out of a game,” he said. “We’re just having so much fun and we’re very much like a family.”
If all goes according to plan, the Bruins will emerge from the conference to play in the NAIA Opening Round before the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idao starting May 22.
Claerhout says it will be important to “not get too high on our own supply” and take each game as it comes.
On a personal level, he doesn’t plan on making any adjustments to his approach at the plate – just have some fun and be a contributor to what he hopes is a championship-winning team.
“To help this team get over the hump and go to Lewiston and win it all would be phenomenal,” Claerhout said. “It would be a pretty sweet way to go out, for sure.”
