Hendrickson High’s Will Birge is something of a baseball rarity. Comfortable on either end of the hardball battery, Birge serves as the Hawks starting catcher, that is when he’s not toeing the rubber on the mound as Hendrickson’s No. 2 starting pitcher. And Birge does both jobs remarkably well. He is second on the Hawks squad with six wins (a 6-0 record) with a 2.92 earned run average and 64 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. Offensively he is hitting .306 with 11 RBIs and 13 runs scored all the while manning the very important catcher position.

“I definitely think it benefits me,” Birge said of his double duty. “All the teams I’ve caught against, I’ve pitched against so I had an advantage. It gave me some insight and I think it helps a lot.”

It certainly helped a couple weeks ago when Birge threw a nine-inning complete game to beat Lake Travis and wrap up the district title for the Hawks in the process.

“It was nerve-wracking going in,” he said of the game. “I was nervous the whole time. But I think I got a good feel of what to expect in the playoffs. Any win against Lake Travis is a big deal and it was good to beat them at home, especially against their number one guy.”

Along with Trevor Seidenberger, Birge forms one of the best one-two pitcher duos in central Texas. Just a junior, Birge says he has enjoyed teaming with the senior Seidenberger.

“He has a big future ahead of him,” Birge said. “We’ve both been producing like we need to. He has a lot of experience and has helped me.”

As with most of his teammates, Birge credits his success to a lot of hard work.

“Things have been going good,” he said. “I’m working really hard and it’s really paying off. Down the stretch all the hard work will pay off.”

Birge said he began playing baseball when he was 3 years old.

“It was the thing to do,” he explained. “Everyone played t-ball when I was little.”

So, while he may just be a junior in high school, Birge has a lifetime of baseball experience. It has been in these years that one thing has stood out for him as his favorite experience on the diamond – the rush provided by a big game.

“I love the adrenaline rush,” he said. “You have to stay calm, but inside everything is going. I like how that feels.”

With one year of high school ball still in front of him Birge does not have to make any college plans too soon. That does not mean, however, he isn’t thinking about playing at the next level.

“That’s been the goal since day one,” he said. “I want to make it to a Division I college to play baseball.”

For now Birge is focused on helping the Hawks get as far as they can in this year’s playoffs.

“Last year we got to the second round and we thought we were going to go deep,” he said. “Now this year I think we can (go deep). Our goal is to make it to the Dell Diamond and the state tournament.”

As for the key to success? It seems Birge will be key in both phases.

“Pitching and defense,” he answered. “Our hitting will turn around once we really focus on it. Once that starts clicking we’ll be a hard team to beat.”