From Fort Wayne to Butler — by way of Yale.

Not exactly an economical travel plan, but Cameron Squires will take it. And no one is happier Squires is patrolling the huge outfield for the Butler BlueSox at Pullman Park than John Stuper.

Yale University's veteran baseball coach is a Butler graduate who pitched in that ballpark.

"I'm thrilled and excited for that young man," Stuper said. "He's a high character kid. When the opportunity arose to send him to play in my hometown, I jumped all over it."

The 5-foot-7, 150-pound outfielder hit .354 in 65 at bats as a freshman at Yale this spring. The speedster only stole four bases in eight attempts, however.

"The kid can fly and should be more adept at base-stealing than those numbers show," Stuper said. "That's what we want him to work on this summer.

"Getting leads, timing the pitcher, taking advantage of that speed is what will improve his stock as a ballplayer."

When it comes to utilizing speed, Squires is in the right place and with the right team. He already has four stolen bases in six tries with the BlueSox.

"The toughest thing for teams in our league to acquire are power and speed," BlueSox manager Jason Wuerfel said. "Because of the size of our park, we put an emphasis on speed.

"Your home park plays a huge factor when you're looking for players. A right-handed power hitter with a wooden bat in his hands is in for a long summer playing in this place. There's so much room in left and center field that we need speed guys who can go get the baseball."

Squires and Seneca Valley graduate Zach Duggan fill that bill for the BlueSox. When Duggan is in the lineup, he plays center and Squires is in left.

When Duggan isn't playing, Squires finds himself in center field. Duggan bats first in the BlueSox lineup while Squires bats ninth.

"We put Cam ninth because that's like having two leadoff batters in the lineup," Wuerfel said.

Squires had hits in his first three at bats — including beating out a routine ground ball to shortstop — in the BlueSox' season opener. He was hitting .243 in 37 at bats entering Wednesday night's game at Lorain.

"I have no problem with hitting ninth," Squires said. "We used the same concept at Yale. I'm comfortable with just getting a chance to play every day.

"Coach Stuper preaches to me that I need to hit line drives or lower. That's the best way for me to get on base."

Wuerfel likes to use the bunt, hit and run, put runners in motion and steal bases.

"It's a bad match for me and the player if he's not used to playing that style of baseball," Wuerfel said. "Cam and I are definitely on the same page in that regard."

Squires attended a private school in Indiana and excelled at Ivy League camps he attended. After signing with Yale, he went hitless in his first nine at bats this spring.

"I was looked at as a four-year player and really wanted to show what I could do," Squires said. "I pressed a little too much.

"Once the first hit fell in, I felt comfortable."

Squires' older brother, Chris, was the closer for Indiana University in the Big Ten this year and was drafted in the 37th round by the Florida Marlins.

As for his own baseball aspirations, Squires is concentrating more on the academic side of life these days. He has yet to declare a major at Yale, but is leaning toward film studies.

"If a professional opportunity arises for me in baseball, I'll look at it," he said. "I'm just not counting on it. I know I'm not the size they're looking for."

Unless they're looking for heart.

"What's that saying? It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog?," Stuper said. "That's Cam Squires."

Before going to Yale this past fall, Squires has not spent extensive time away from his family's home in Fort Wayne.

"That's another reason I'm glad he's in Butler," Stuper said. "It's a good town and he'll be taken care of there. He can concentrate on his baseball in an atmosphere where those games are an event. It's an ideal situation for him."

Squires echoes those sentiments.

"My host family has been great," he said. "They make me meals, I've got a nice bed ... I said I'd do my own laundry when we got back from our first road trip.

"We got home and my laundry was already done. They're super people. I can see why Coach Stuper raves about his hometown. It's a nice place to be."