BY MARK MORING, Eastern Shore Post —
When you’re the younger sibling of a star athlete, it can be hard to follow in those footsteps. Living up to those expectations is often a difficult cross to bear.
On the other hand, those expectations can be motivating, a challenge to meet.
Dalton Barnes loves a good challenge, so he embraces the idea of playing baseball at Arcadia High School, where his older brother Nathan, a 2024 graduate, was an ace pitcher for the Firebirds.
Barnes, a junior hurler who also catches and plays first when he’s not on the mound, says much of what he has learned came from his big brother.
“I started out pitching in Little League, following in my brother’s shoes,” he says. “With his guidance, I was able to learn pitching workouts, drills, and form, which helped me grow into the pitcher I am today.”
Today he is Arcadia’s top thrower and one of the team’s best hitters, putting the Firebirds in the driver’s seat in the race for the Eastern Shore District title. Barnes’ performance on the mound and at the plate helped lift Arcadia to a 5-3 victory at Nandua on Tuesday, bringing his team’s record to 8-7 overall and 3-0 in the district. (See game story on page 23.)
His record on the mound is only 4-4, but that’s a bit deceiving. One of those losses, a 2-0 defeat at Norview last month, came despite pitching a no-hitter and striking out 12.
Barnes has allowed just 16 hits in 35 innings, has struck out 69 batters, and has a 2.5 ERA. At the plate, he’s batting .391 with two homers and a slugging percentage of .783.
Like his brother, Barnes’ best pitch is his fastball. Nathan was throwing 90 mph when he graduated, but Dalton’s max is around 85. “I want to throw 90 mph at least once, so I can say I used to throw 90 back in my day.”
Barnes wants to play college ball but is also setting his sights on a major in aerospace engineering. He’s No. 2 in his class with a 4.15 GPA and says his intended college major was inspired by Robb Borowicz, an Arcadia assistant coach who is an engineer at Rocket Lab at Wallops Island.
“I don’t know if college baseball is in my future,” Barnes says, “but I would like to play for any school that recruits me and has an engineering program.”
For Barnes, that’s just another challenge to conquer.
“I’m very competitive,” he says, “and I like to challenge myself every day.” For example, he recently taught himself how to solve a Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes, “a pretty cool skill, I think.” And he taught himself to juggle to improve his hand-eye coordination.
He’s also challenged himself to break the school record in the bench press — 315 pounds. He’s up to 250 now. “That would be an amazing milestone,” he says.
The next challenge for Barnes and the Firebirds will be repeating as Eastern Shore District champs. Heading into Thursday’s game at Chincoteague, Arcadia had beaten each of their district foes once. Last year, the Firebirds went 11-7 overall and 5-1 in the district.
“We’re competing at a good level,” says Barnes, Arcadia’s co-captain with fellow junior Dylan Chesser. “We are definitely missing Nathan’s pitching and hitting from last year, but I believe we are going to fill that hole with our current players stepping up.
“We had a slow start to the season, but we are improving. Our fielding and pitching have been a highlight. When we get our hitting to the next level, I believe we can be one of the top teams in the region.”
Challenge accepted.
