East Carter alum Dalton Rudd made his mark on the local high school baseball diamond and then left for Bowling Green, Kentucky to suit up for the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in the fall of 2021. However, things didn’t go as planned and Rudd headed back to Southeast Missouri and locked up with the Three Rivers Community College baseball program and head coach Tyler Smith.
The right-handed pitcher, outfielder, and about anything else, Rudd has made it back to where he is most secure as he tries to lay out the map for his future following his regular season with the Raiders which begins Feb. 2 at South Arkansas. “We recruited him out of high school,” Smith said. “He came back here and he’s been with us since the fall. He will be with us throughout the year and then we are going to move him on to a 4-year school. “He is a professional-level talent. He can defend in center, runs really well, our softball clubhouse behind our field, and he pretty much hits it every day during BP. He is 90-94 on the mound. He’s the kind of athlete you dream of because the tools are there. When he figures it all out this spring, it could be really special.”
Smith said any aspect of his game could attract 4-year coaches and potential scouts as he can play all parts of the outfield. “He’s been really good — he had a really good fall and a good first couple weeks (of practice),” Smith said. “It’s just going to get better. “He leads by example and doesn’t say about while going about his business. He’s a worker and that’s what we want.”
For Rudd, just the idea of being where he is familiar has helped the transition to the next chapter of his baseball life. “It’s definitely a good feeling to come home and where you grew up and are familiar,” Rudd said. “It’s definitely fun and I am going to enjoy it a lot. It gives you a lot of confidence — you are really close to home and if you ever need someone to talk to outside of baseball for any reason, it’s right there. You can reach out any time you want or you can go home. That’s the biggest thing for me. “When you play sports, you are always going to have those people criticizing you. Your group is going to be small in general when you are playing a sport — your teammates usually are your friends and buddies.
It’s always going to be where you have your critics, but it doesn’t bother me too much.” He left Western Kentucky because “it was time to make a move,” and saw the opportunity to come to Three Rivers, but not before at least building a number of “great friendships,” and learning a lot as a freshman among older men on the squad. Rudd came to Three Rivers because of the allure of being close to home and Smith and his staff reached out shortly after the former Redbird made it known he would transfer.
“It’s a great place, great facility, good athletes on the team and that’s all it took,” Rudd said. “I guess it was about getting back to somewhere I was familiar with. I can definitely say it’s a lot smaller (than Western), but I have really enjoyed it. I like the smallness actually — it doesn’t make things so chaotic. Everyone is closely knit and friendly. At a bigger place, it can be harder to meet people.”
After the fall ball season, Rudd came away impressed with the level of competition the Raiders will face. “It’s good — there’s competition nowadays in baseball, especially what’s happened in the world (the last few years),” Rudd said. “It’s challenging and you have to bring your game every time you play and try to be the best you can every single day. “It’s still baseball and the same failures and successes. So, there hasn’t been a change in that category.”
Rudd noted he would like to work on keeping his emotional level evenkeel and not let the other team get to him mentally. “Baseball is very mental and when you go there it is hard to succeed,” he said. “When you are able to take that out of it and play with no fear or anger, no nothing and just play and be happy, like you did as a kid, things rarely go bad.” While he’s a Raider, Rudd wants to enjoy his time close to home and he wants to “have fun,” with the team, noting the intensity and stress levels of the sport. “I am trying to have fun, work hard and let everything take care of itself the way it is supposed to,” Rudd said.”
Alan Dale - Daily American Republic