Cameron Touchette could probably count off 90 feet in his sleep.
That's how often the John A. Logan freshman outfielder has reached base this season. In fact, his .568 on-base percentage was fourth highest in Division I of the National Junior College Athletic Association through April 28. He trails only Harford's Tre Todd (.601), Hutchinson's Michael Helman (.590) and Southern Union State's Jackson Hesterlee (.587).
Fueling Touchette's on-base prowess is a batting average of .444, which ranked 15th, and his 38 walks, which ranked 17th. And once he gets on base, Touchette becomes even more dangerous: He was 38th in stolen bases with 22 and 19th in runs scored with 62.
“It's going good," Touchette told the Southeast Illinois News. "I mean, I'm seeing the ball well, hitting the ball well."
About a year ago, Touchette was wrapping up a stellar playing career at Columbia High School. He was a 2015 Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State selection. In 2016, he hit .534 with a home run, three triples, 23 RBIs and a .767 slugging percentage, according to stltoday.com.
Touchette said he was not hitting the ball well at first at John A. Logan, going hitless in his first five at-bats -- although he did score a run in each of his first two games in that span. Then he exploded with a three-hit game against Central Alabama on February 11 and has had 19 multi-hit games and 10 multi-walk efforts in his first 43 games.
Touchette said he is seeing the ball a bit better in college than in high school, which might say a lot about how he rises to the level of competition.
“I like hitting against better pitching in general,” he said.
Despite his early dominance in his first college season, Touchette said he plans to keep working on his hitting -- an important trait in a sport in which success is considered three hits in every 10 at-bats.
“You can't ever stop improving at hitting," he said. "It's a game of failure."
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