Ibuprofen is Brett Roeske’s lifeline.
“I always have a bottle with me at all times,” he said. “My knees are always hurting.”
Ah, the life of a catcher.
Even for Roeske, a Chesterton senior, it’s not easy squatting for two-plus hours about four days a week during the baseball season.
Roeske isn’t complaining too much.
He has perhaps the best pitching staff in Northwest Indiana to manage.
It starts with Austin Peterson, a Purdue recruit who’s 3-0. Other pitchers are Grant Brunt, Chris Torres and Steve Gilbertsen.
Roeske’s path to a comfortable spot behind the plate started when he was around 10 and received catcher’s gear for Christmas.
A middle linebacker and captain for the Trojans in football, Roeske appreciated the idea of putting on a chest protector and knee pads and having a special glove.
It was just like football equipment to him.
“I found that I liked it,” he said of catching. “I had the ball in my hands and I was always part of the play (on defense). I’ve caught almost every game I’ve played in since I was 11.”
Roeske played on the varsity as a freshman and then split time with Patrick Arndt, who’s at Prairie State, as a sophomore.
Roeske took over full-time duties last year.
Chesterton coach Jack Campbell said Roeske is as good as he’s had.
Roeske is batting .352 with 14 RBIs and a .438 on-base percentage. He doesn’t have any errors.
Campbell said Roeske is really good at scooping up pitches and making the strike zone larger for his pitchers.
“He’s outstanding at squeezing the pitches when he gets them and bringing the ball down as opposed to up when it crosses the plate,” Campbell said.
Roeske confirmed that working with the pitchers is a smooth process. He’s been with them since little league.
“Calling the game is easy,” he said. “I know what they want. They just have to hit their spots.”
Baseball has been a relief for Roeske.
He loves football, but the last two seasons were a struggle. The Trojans finished with a 4-6 record in 2017 after going 2-8 in 2016.
Chesterton (10-3) is the best Class 4A baseball team in the area.
The transition between the sports has been odd, according to Roeske.
“The past two seasons in football were really rough,” he said. “Those are the only two losing sports seasons I’ve had in high school.
“I was happy I got to play sophomore year on varsity. I gave it everything I had. Even when we were losing in football, there was always baseball to go on to. That kept me going.”
Roeske doesn’t yet have plans to play at Purdue, where he’s going for college.
Peterson and Brunt, who is a preferred walk-on according to Roeske, are trying to talk him into trying out.
He’s thinking about it.
But what he’s thinking about mostly right now is the Trojans (10-3) are solid, perhaps better than last season when they lost in heartbreaking fashion to Andrean in the sectional championship game.
Roeske wants to make the most of what’s left.
“Overall, our pitching is a lot better than last year,” he said. “We have guys who can hit the ball every day. We just have to figure out how to turn it on every single day.”
Baseball Top 10
With records through Wednesday, with previous ranking in parentheses.
1. Andrean 13-1 (1)
2. Chesterton 10-3 (2)
3. Lake Central 9-3 (3)
4. LaPorte 10-5 (4)
5. Hanover Central 8-2 (6)
6. Highland 8-2 (10)
7. Valparaiso 7-4 (5)
8. Crown Point 7-4 (NR)
9. Munster 7-3 (NR)
10. Wheeler 10-0 (NR)
Player of the Week: Mark DeLeon allowed only three hits and one run while striking out six Tuesday as Highland beat Hobart 2-1, giving the Trojans a sweep over the Brickies.
Twitter @MikeHuttonPT
