Chance McCarty hasn’t played for Missouri Valley College yet but has an idea of what to expect.

The recent Mexico graduate and all-state infielder played for the Jefferson City Renegades this summer in the collegiate Diamond Baseball League. McCarty played his final game with the Renegades on Aug. 1 after starting midseason in early July.

McCarty will be a freshman at Missouri Valley College in the upcoming school year, but an opportunity opened up this summer. He said some left the Renegades roster midseason due to other summer commitments and was asked to fill a spot by his upcoming college head coach and Renegades assistant coach Mike DeMilia.

“They see me at short and a little bit at second when he came and watched online,” McCarty said. “He put me at third for the first time in four years and put me in the outfield as well for the first time since middle school. So we explored all the options for a utility guy, but I think I’ll be in the middle infield or third.

All I care about is just playing baseball. That’s just all I really want to do.”

McCarty said he was offered a spot on a team out of Topeka, Kansas, but he didn’t want to spend months far away from home. Playing for a Jefferson City team allowed him to stay home.

While he has had confidence in his glove, McCarty said his fielding could be even better and wanted to see some improvement this summer. 

“In college, everybody is fast,” McCarty said. “Even the bigger kids are fast. Instead of taking your time and lollipop throws, you have to go hard every play no matter what.”

In 46 plate appearances, McCarty had a .270 batting average, a .413 on-base percentage, 10 hits and six RBIs. This was his first extended period playing with a wood bat since swinging one in a tournament in Branson, so he wanted to get a feel for it. 

“In my very first game, I saw a guy throwing about 86-88 mph and topping about 90,” McCarty said. “I was like, ‘Oh, this guy is throwing hard.’ Everybody around me was like, ‘No, this is normal.’ It was a big wakeup call and was needed for me.”

McCarty thought he battled through it well and was glad he didn’t have to experience this for the first time in college. He did while adjusting his approach.

In high school, McCarty said he would usually hit the first or second pitch of an at bat but tried to prolong his at bats this summer. It was necessary against the competition because McCarty said he couldn’t take as free of a swing to account for a breaking ball that would disappear from the middle of the plate.

“I was probably seeing six-pitch at bats every time,” McCarty said. “Probably four of those pitches were offspeed. I saw breaking balls on any count like 3-0 breaking balls or 0-2 breaking balls.”

There were four fellow Missouri Valley College players on the Renegades roster and were all pitchers, including recent Fulton graduate Justin Case. Recent Community R-6 graduate and upcoming Viking Drake Welch pitched for the Renegades in June before McCarty arrived. 

Despite there not being much familiarity for McCarty, he said he still felt comfortable. He could make mistakes without worrying about alienation and instead was approached a handful of times per game to be given tips.

“Everybody’s picking each other up,” McCarty said. “We’re playing baseball the way it should be played. Nobody is getting super mad. Everybody is getting aggravated from time to time because they want to do their best, but everybody is understanding and wants to help you learn.”

This meant a lot to McCarty because he said he was one of the youngest players on the team. He admitted there was some intimidation at first.

“I would get up in the box, and there would be a guy with a full beard,” McCarty said. “We’ve seen guys who are 6-foot-8-plus on the mound. That was really intimidating because I’m here at 5-foot-11.”

The Renegades finished the season 20-23 and were fourth in the league standings. They won six of their final nine games, helping McCarty learn in the process.

“It was mostly playing smart and team baseball,” McCarty said. “We had a lot of times with a runner on second, I’m laying down a bunt and trying to be a team player.”

McCarty will be moving into Missouri Valley College in a few weeks. He said he has met a few of his teammates to prepare, adding that he has some experience with international players.

Missouri Valley College has some international players on its roster and so did the Renegades. McCarty said there was a Venezuelan that didn’t speak English and a Dominican that could speak some English, but baseball leaps over language barriers. That is part of why McCarty enjoys the game and why he is glad he played over this summer.

“We had one or two walkoffs, so that was really fun,” McCarty said. “We just got the full college baseball experience. It felt really good getting an RBI or scoring a run. It was a great atmosphere at the games.”