Bulldog Breakdown: Clovis West slugger Cayden Munster stays with hometown school

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- See ball, hit ball.

That is the motto Cayden Munster has followed since he could walk.

"3 years old, I can have that memory vividly," said Munster.

The Clovis West grad's love for the game all started with his mom, Holli Munster-Cirimele.

"Playing whiffle ball with my dad in the backyard and he grabbed that bat swung it left-handed and it was over," explained Munster-Cirimele.

At times, Holli would pick up double duty as both mom and coach.

"It was just the two of us for a few years and that was when he wanted to be a pitcher. So, mom was a catcher a lot of the time in the backyard. We did a lot together, a lot of playing catch, taking ground balls, practicing pitches," said Holli.

All those hours in the backyard and on the field would pay off as Munster started to get recruiting calls as just a freshman in high school.

"When I was younger it was kind of wild to think about that because I was 14 years old," said Cayden. "I talked to St. Mary's, I talked to Sac State. Washington was another, and UCSB was another one I had an interest in but I had to stay home and play for the dogs.

Cayden would stick with his roots, an easy decision for what can be a complicated game.

"Baseball's very like, it really gets to you sometimes. You never know if it's gonna be a nice gonna be a good day," said Cayden.

"Little energy drink, I drink it before every BP," Cayden said.

That pregame ritual would work in his final season at Clovis West.

He rattled off 5 games in a row with a home run, just one shy of the state record held by former MLB all-star Chase U tley.

"For those couple weeks, the ball was feeling like a watermelon feeling like a beach ball, but at the beginning of the season it felt like a grain of salt," said Cayden.

Cayden's biggest fan didn't seem to notice the difference.

After all, that's what brothers are for.

"Our little guy Jace, who is 9 years old, just thinks Cayden is the best thing since sliced bread," explained Holli.

As Jace grows up, he won't have to travel far to see big brother on the Bulldog's big stage.

"I mean they come to every game and support me through everything I've been through. It's one of the reasons why I stayed home I mean now they'll be able to come to my games and be able to go home for a family dinner whenever I need to,"

Cayden said.

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