FAYETTEVILLE — Blake Baxendale is finally going to the College World Series.
He had just graduated Rogers Heritage High School and was in Omaha in 2012 when his older brother, DJ, started two games for Arkansas against Kent State and South Carolina. But the Razorbacks never made it past the NCAA regional round during Blake’s two seasons in Fayetteville, which included a medical redshirt campaign in 2013 for Tommy John surgery.
Blake is in his first season as a student manager who works in Arkansas’ bullpen on game days, and DJ is in his third season as a graduate manager who assists with the pitching staff. If going to Omaha as part of the same team isn’t special enough, the brothers will be joined there by their first cousin, freshman right-handed pitcher Austin Ledbetter.
“As a player I had never made it to a super regional, so last weekend in itself was pretty cool,” Blake said of the Razorbacks’ two-game sweep at North Carolina.
“I’m excited to get to experience (the College World Series) on the field with DJ and Austin being a part of it, too.”
Ledbetter thinks he was 6 years old when he began to frequently travel to Fayetteville from his home in Bryant to watch his cousins’ college games in person. DJ pitched at Arkansas from 2010-12 and Blake was a catcher from 2013-14.
The Baxendales’ mother, Shea, and Ledbetter’s father, Lee, are siblings.
“I’d come up for all the big games, the SEC series,” Ledbetter said, “seeing the crowd and just getting a feel for the stadium. It was a good atmosphere when they were here and it still is.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have two family members on the team. You don’t really see that every day.
Ledbetter was used to having the Baxendales around as coaches before he came to Fayetteville. They previously coached him at times when he played for the Arkansas Express, a summer team led by the Baxendales’ father, Gregg.
“It’s family first off the field, but when it’s nut-cutting time, he’s on me and coaches me like every coach should,” Ledbetter said specifically of DJ. “It’s good to have that.”
Ledbetter and DJ spoke about working together before Ledbetter began his collegiate career.
“I sat him down and said, ‘Look, you’ll always be my cousin first and you’re my family and I love you, but when we’re at the field, let’s keep this as player-coach and keep this as professional as possible,’” DJ said. “I think we’ve done a great job of that. We can have great conversations about pitching without it turning into something that it shouldn’t be. I think that’s a testament to Austin respecting the coaching staff.”
Ledbetter was a two-sport star at Bryant High School. In addition to baseball, he was the starting quarterback for the Hornets’ state championship football team as a sophomore, junior and senior.
Before Bryant, only Pine Bluff (1993-95) had won three consecutive state championships in the state’s highest classification during the playoff era that dates to the 1960s.
Ledbetter said he had opportunities to play college football, but he had long decided his dream was to play baseball for the Razorbacks. He committed to Arkansas in April 2018 before he ever started a varsity football game.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play here at Baum,” Ledbetter said. “Being here my whole life, this is what I wanted to do.”
The Baxendales credit Ledbetter’s work ethic as the reason he had the opportunity to play two sports on the collegiate level. Blake cited a pivotal moment when Ledbetter tried out but did not make the Express team.
“He’s family and he didn’t make our own family’s travel team,” Blake said. “I honestly would say that was the turning point in Austin’s athletic career, even though he was so young, probably 8 years old. I think that’s when he learned to work. His dad would take him to the cage or the field twice a day, and then the next year he didn’t only make one of our teams, but was on the best team that we had. I think that stuck with him.
“I think all the hard work that he’s put in, that leads to him being a fierce competitor. That’s exactly what he is. He doesn’t lack confidence in any way.”
On the mound, Ledbetter has a style that is reminiscent of DJ because of the way both are able to throw four pitches for strikes. Ledbetter also wears the same jersey number, 29, that DJ wore as a freshman.
“We were both guys who were not going to break down a wall with 100 mph, so we both grew up learning how to pitch and throw multiple pitches over the plate,” DJ said. “I think that’s where most of the similarities lie.”
DJ said Ledbetter throws the same four pitches that he threw during his career that led him to as high as the Minnesota Twins’ Class AAA team in Rochester, N.Y. Ledbetter throws a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.
“His slider is better than mine, but my curveball was better than his,” DJ said.
Ledbetter also throws from a low arm slot that DJ used at times during his career. During a fall practice, Arkansas volunteer coach Bobby Wernes was talking with Blake about past pitchers who were comparable to Ledbetter.
“Bobby’s player comp was DJ,” Blake said. “I had never seen it before. Austin has always just been Austin to me. Bobby said that, and watching him pitch it was actually kind of surprising how many similarities there are between the two of them.
“DJ was never an overpowering guy, a high velocity guy, and I wouldn’t put Austin in that category either….It’s about being able to throw a pitch in any count and Austin has shown he can do that at times, even as a freshman.”
Ledbetter played minimally this season. He has a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings over 5 appearances, which included starts against Illinois-Chicago on March 10 and Grambling State on March 16. He has allowed 8 hits and 1 walk, struck out 10 and thrown 68.7% of his pitches (103 of 150) for strikes.
Ledbetter has not pitched since an April 20 relief appearance against Arkansas State, but he is one of 14 pitchers who made the Razorbacks’ postseason travel roster.
Blake said Ledbetter has been good in his bullpen work.
“Austin is fun to be around,” Blake said. “He’s really likable and he enjoys being at the baseball field with his teammates….He’s ready whenever we need him, but he understands what his role is right now and he understands how deep and good our pitching staff is.
“I’ve been a part of two really good teams here and I’ve never seen a whole team want to win as bad as this one does. It doesn’t matter if they’re not getting to play, they just want to win. I think that falls on (Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn) creating that type of culture.”
The Baxendales said they are happy to be a part of Ledbetter’s college experience, especially as a freshman. Blake said he likes to have Ledbetter to his house to give him the feeling of a home away from home. Ledbetter is living with another aunt and uncle in Fayetteville until his summer baseball assignment begins with the Princeton (W.V.) Whistle Pigs of the Appalachian League.
“Being a freshman athlete, a lot of guys don’t really understand what goes into it until you experience it,” Blake said. “You get a little homesick, and I think me and DJ being on staff help that a little bit.”
“They are two guys I can go to and talk about anything,” Ledbetter said. “They’re obviously my cousins. It’s good to have them on the staff, someone I can go and talk to about anything.”
A previous version of this story first appeared in Hawgs Illustrated