The White twins: Logan and Kaiden White setting new standard for Northeastern baseball
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. — Let’s start with a hypothetical. If you could take Logan and Kaiden White, sophomore twin brothers at Northeastern, and combine their skills on the baseball field, what would that ballplayer look like?
Before the answer, here’s a little background: Logan is right-handed. He can pitch, and he plays infield and catcher. Kaiden is left-handed. He can pitch, too, and he plays outfield. Oh, and they’re both pretty good hitters.
So, we’re talking about someone who can play any position on the field, knows what they’re doing at the plate and can do it all with both hands. What would that player look like?
“That’d be one of the most solid ballplayers you could have,” Logan said with a laugh.
He laughed because it was a moment in fantasy land, but what he said was true, and Northeastern isn’t too far from having twin copies of that idealized player.
The numbers speak for themselves. As freshmen, the Whites both ended last season in the Knights’ top three in innings pitched (29 for Kaiden, 26.1 for Logan) and ERA (3.38 for Kaiden, 3.46 for Logan). They were also both in the Knights’ top five in hits (18 for Kaiden, 16 for Logan) and had respectable batting averages (.327 for Logan, .281 for Kaiden).
This year, Kaiden’s bat has caught fire. Through 20 games, he has 31 hits and a .437 batting average. Logan’s offensive production has dipped a little, but he’s shown flashes of his potential all season.
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It’s their pitching that has been the most impressive. Kaiden and Logan are sporting team-leading 1.94 and 2.04 ERAs, respectively, while throwing more innings than anyone else on the team. Senior Landen Sum is the only Northeastern pitcher who mirrors the Whites’ usage rate, and his solid 3.50 ERA looks astronomical compared to what the twins are posting.
“The only bad thing is I’m trying to get other pitchers some time,” Northeastern head coach Dave Baker said. “Between Landen Sum and the two White boys, I’ve got to get innings in, but I don’t know where. I sent two sophomores down to JV just to get some innings.”
The White twins have that “I want the ball” mentality, and it’s led to a 13-7 record for the Knights this season.
Baker saw this drive in them last year. In Logan’s first outing on the mound in 2022, he pitched 3.2 innings, didn’t give up any earned runs and only allowed one hit against then-ranked Cowan. Two games later, he allowed just one earned run in a complete-game effort against Wapahani, the No. 1 Class 2A team in the state at the time. Two games after that, he didn’t allow any earned runs in 2.2 innings of work against Centerville, the eventual Class 2A state runner-up.
“I asked him, ‘Do you realize you just played against three of the top teams in the state of Indiana?’ He went, ‘Yeah.’ It didn’t bother him,” Baker told The Pal-Item last season. “I’ve basically thrown him to the wolves. I’m not afraid to put him in a big game.”
Logan said he loves and lives for those big moments, and his brother is the same way. That mentality has bled into their sophomore year and is most apparent when Baker comes out to switch pitchers when one of them is on the mound.
The Knights’ 2023 home opener against Monroe Central April 10 is a perfect example. Logan pitched 5.2 innings and only allowed one earned run, but he started to lose some command late in the game. He convinced Baker to let him try to finish the sixth inning but came off the mound after letting the next batter reach base. Kaiden came in to replace him and shut the Golden Bears down for the last 1.1 innings to secure the win. It’s as if they really are the same player; one starts to run out of gas, so you replace him with the other one who has a full tank.
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It’s all about confidence, something Kaiden said you need to be successful. They still get nervous before every game, but that’s a good thing. Logan said he’d be worried if he didn’t get nervous because that would mean he didn’t care enough.
The twins’ confidence is sky high, but their coach’s confidence in them might be even higher. And if you thought they were hard to tell apart just by looking at them, wait until you hear their responses to Baker’s praise.
Kaiden: “It’s a great feeling, and it boosts my confidence.”
Logan: “I feel that trust he has for me, and it just boosts me up as a ballplayer.”
Kaiden also plays tennis and wrestles for Northeastern, and Logan is a wide receiver on the football team, but it’s baseball with which they have the most history. The Whites have been playing baseball together “since we could walk.” They may not have been organized games back then, but Kaiden said they’ve been throwing balls around for as long as he can remember.
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Their growing up together with sports made them natural competitors, and they have their own little competitions within each game. For example, if one of them steps up to the plate and gets a base hit, the other makes it a goal to match or one-up them in their next at-bat.
“I’m encouraging him, but I’ve got to go up there and hit one, too,” Kaiden said. “I can’t let him beat me.”
Northeastern fans have the rest of this season and two more full seasons to watch the White twins on the baseball diamond. Logan and Kaiden are excited to see how far they can take their team, and Baker is excited to see how much they grow over the next couple years.
“I don’t know what the ceiling is. I don’t know if there is one,” Baker said. “They want the ball … I don’t quite know who’s the best right now. They’re competing amongst themselves, and that’s what the whole team is about this year.”
Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Logan and Kaiden White setting new standard for Northeastern baseball
