When St. Charles East’s Niko Vahmistrovs was dropped down to the junior varsity last season due to a lack of plate appearances, he handled it about as well as could be expected.
No matter what sport or walk of life, taking a step back can be jarring, but Vahmistrovs took it the opposite way.
“I wanted it because I wasn’t getting the at-bats,” Vahmistrovs said with a nod. “I look at it now, and it was a good thing. That’s when I started hitting homers more and more.
“I used it like, ‘Let me show where I’m at and just come back from it.’ I loved it.”
The senior right fielder is hitting those homers on varsity this spring.
Vahmistrovs connected for his third of the season in the top of the second Monday at St. Charles North to give the Saints a 2-0 lead, but the DuKane Conference game was postponed in the bottom of the inning due to rain and lightning.
Kyle LaRose also singled and scored for St. Charles East (15-6, 7-3), while Ben Auer singled for St. Charles North (11-7-2, 5-3).
St. Charles East coach Derek Sutor, meanwhile, knows that every situation is different. But for Vahmistrovs, sending him to the junior varsity was the right decision.
“It’s hard to take that step back, but in his case, he took a step back to take three steps forward,” Sutor said of Vahmistrovs. “He’s not somebody that is going to be deterred.
“He has an incredible work ethic from playing hockey.”
The move also has paid off handsomely for the Saints.
“He’s always been somebody that has the power,” Sutor said. “We sent him down to JV. That’s when he found his groove and he brought it into this season. He came in ready to contribute.
“I kind of started off the season saying, ‘I have to find a spot for him on the field.’”
Senior infielder Antonio Perez had a feeling Vahmistrovs would be having this type of success.
“It’s always good to have a big, strong lefty in the lineup,” Perez said. “He can pull it with power and drive the ball out as well.”
Led by Illinois-Chicago recruit James Feigleson at shortstop, the Saints’ infield is stacked with proven talent. The outfield had collectively struggled the past two seasons heading into this spring.
“We’ve had some inconsistent outfield play,” Sutor said. “That’s been a focus of ours all offseason long. Credit to the guys that have been out there.
“Since the beginning of the summer, they made it their mantra that this was going to be the year that they weren’t going to be the Achilles’ heel. They’ve been exceptional.”
Vahmistrovs made the decision to end his hockey career in high school in order to pursue aviation and play baseball next year at Dubuque. For him, it wasn’t as difficult a decision as expected.
“Once my last game happened, tears came down,” Vahmistrovs said. “It was emotional. The second that last game happened, I knew what was happening.
“It was bound to happen at some point. I’m going to stick with one sport.”
He knows that hockey helped him get to this point on the baseball field, however.
“Definitely for strength, the core is there, mental toughness,” Vahmistrovs said. “I think it teaches you how to handle adversity pretty quickly.
“If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would be able to do what I’m doing right now.”
And right now, Vahmistrovs is happy to help in leading the outfield’s resurgence.
“The outfield has been phenomenal,” Vahmistrovs said. “Yeah, we have our flaws, but the guys come ready to play. The work ethic is there. I think that’s what makes us stand out.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
