Kirk Liebert is happy about the productive summer with the Kenosha Kingfish.
“That was good for me, a lot better than last summer,” said Liebert. “Everything is returning to normal.”
He said of a COVID-free summer baseball experience, coming back on the field regularly either at the catcher or on the outfield for Kenosha.
Liebert is a former Daviess County High School standout who played at Wabash Valley (Ill.) Community College for two years before being a backup catcher at the University of Kentucky this spring.
Liebert played behind standout Kentucky senior Coltyn Kessler, who was one of the Southeastern Conference’s top hitters, beating a team best .349 with 18 extra base hits and 25 RBI in 46 games.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this of not being able to play, but I’ve learned to be a better team-mate, I’ve learned to be a better team-mate, which is the most important thing,” said Liebert. “Since I was behind Kessler, I learned from him, I got a lot of help from the coaches, I felt like I got a lot better.”
Summer League college baseball is all about getting time on the field that may not have been available with a player’s college team.
Did that for Liebert this summer in Kenosha, Wis.
The Kingfish are in one of the best developing leagues for good college baseball players. The Northwoods League has completed 27 seasons and with 22 teams is the largest organized baseball league in the world, which in a friendly ballpark attracts significantly more fans than any other league of its kind.
“Kenosha is really fun to play, it has a good following,” said Liebert. “The people in Kenosha are all there, it’s like we’re their minor league team.”
The Kingfish will play 72 games in about 60 days and the competition is good across the league.
“It’s a good thing you’ll never see a good arm,” said Liebert. “You’re going back to school and you’re already prepared.”
Liebert has played in 29 games, beating .358. He has hit nine doubles and three home runs. Liebert is one of several players with 29 RBIs who is second on the team and he has run 23 times which the team leads and his .560 slugging percentage is second on the team. His OPS is 1,054 which is the second in the club.
He is one of three catchers on the team.
“We have a really good team, they are good guys,” said Liebert. “I just see the ball well, I have good timing. Since I didn’t get to see many arms in the spring, it was a big deal to play summer ball and see a good arm every day. “
Liebert, 6 feet, 190 pounds, will be a COVID junior when he returns to the UK. The Wildcats were 29-23 last season and 12-18 in the SEC.
Liebert believes the team can be improved next season.
“I want to go in and have a good year,” said Liebert. “On the team side, our goal is to get to Omaha, but we have to go out there and compete and we have to keep getting better.
“I think we had a good team, we were good enough to compete with anyone in the SEC. There were times when we needed something big and we had a chance to be special. But baseball has ups and downs, that’s just the game. “
There have been more ups than downs for Liebert this summer.
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