A day before his first home start as a member of the Reading Fightin Phils, right-handed pitcher Hans Crouse shuffled into the batting cage for his next turn in a round of batting practice on Friday afternoon.
After stepping into the left-handed batter’s box, Crouse got ready to swing. As the pitch came in, he tipped his bat forward, kicked his leg and took a hack, connecting for a high fly ball.
His Fightins teammates who stood behind the cage anxiously awaited the baseball’s landing. Crouse had hit one to the warning track earlier, but this one didn’t disappoint.