Gunderson thriving for Charlotte in NCAA

One of the best bats in NCAA baseball belongs to a player from St Malo.

Cody Gunderson has been thriving in his first season playing for the Charlotte 49ers. Getting the nod to start in every game so far this spring, the utility player is one of the top players across all of college baseball for on base percentage. He was hitting at nearly 0.400 with 24 RBIs and six home runs over the first 30 games of the season.

Fans from Manitoba who tuned into a game broadcast on YouTube from the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers home diamond April 8 were treated to a hitting clinic from the entire 49ers squad, as the team knocked in 16 hits in a 9-4 win over Gardner-Webb.

Gunderson was 2/3 at the plate with a double, two RBIs and was intentionally walked twice. The sophomore transferred to Charlotte after finishing two years at Hutchinson Community College, a junior college in Kansas.

It’s been a meteoric rise for Gunderson. He said he didn’t have the best fall on the diamond, as he adjusted to the NCAA game, but a hard winter in the gym and training is paying off.

Gunderson said the speed of the game at this level, from pitchers throwing with extra velocity, to balls getting put in play with harder contact took some getting used to.

“Pitchers having more than two pitches that they can throw for a strike was definitely something I had to work on,” Gunderson said.

“Being able to trust my approach to all parts of the field. Once I got used to that and was able to trust myself, it got a little easier.”

That renewed focus at the plate has led to an impressive streak. Gunderson has reached base in every game for Charlotte so far this season.

“I don’t like talking about that kind of stuff,” he said, laughing while adding he doesn’t even like to see his stats update on scoreboards between at bats.

“I try and play my game. My family always tries to talk to me about it and I just try and block it out. It’s baseball. You could go 4/4 one day with the cycle then go 0/4 the next day with four strikeouts. I try to stay level-headed.”

While his place batting high in the order has been pretty consistent, Gunderson’s defensive position has been a bit in flux. Fans who watched him play junior summer ball for the Carillon Sultans are used to seeing him play at catcher or third base, two tough defensive positions.

While he still catches at times for Charlotte, oftentimes he’s been put in at first base.

“I’m used to my body being a little bit more beat up at this time of year,” Gunderson said.

“It’s been nice having a little healthier body… I think it’s carrying over to my at bats as well.”

While he admitted he wasn’t the biggest fan of living in a big city, Gunderson said he’s relished the chance to play high stakes baseball.

“The atmosphere is crazy,” he said.

“You play in front of so many people you don’t really know. Everyone’s screaming all the time, when you’re at road games everyone’s chirping you, trying to get in your head. You’ve got to try and block all the noise out and just play the game you know how to play.”

Gunderson won’t be playing his summer ball in Manitoba, as he’s planning to suit up in the Appalachian League, a multi-state wooden-bat summer league for rising collegiate stars. The league plays a 48 game schedule in June and July as part of Major League Baseball’s “Prospect Development Pipeline.”