Junior catcher Tristan Steger brings a bunch of experience to the baseball field for St. Laurence.
The Kentucky recruit actually smiled when asked about his early beginnings with the sport.
“I want to say I started playing right out of the womb,” he said. “I think I came out with a bat.”
And over the years, Steger has used that bat effectively.
He cracked his team-leading 11th homer of the season to lead the Vikings to a 19-2 Catholic League Blue victory in four innings Tuesday over host St. Rita in Chicago.
David Campbell came off the bench and hit a two-run homer for St. Laurence (26-1, 10-0), while Lewis recruit Mickey Lotus added three RBIs and Wisconsin-Parkside commit Danny Donovan scored four times.
After giving up two runs in the first, Lake Land-bound pitcher John Strzechowski threw three shutout innings to pick up the win.
“I didn’t worry about getting down 2-0 because I know we have a great group of hitters one through nine,” Strzechowski said. “And they will deliver.”
The Vikings have delivered a lot in a monster of a season this spring, putting together a 22-game winning streak, with their only loss coming in a 6-4 setback to Florida’s IMG Academy on March 24. Tuesday was the third time they scored a season-high 19 runs in a game.
Jayden Hawkins, Colin Quinn and Ryan Jones each had two hits for St. Rita (15-8, 4-6), which produced nine hits.
Steger, meanwhile, hit a two-run homer to open up Monday’s 9-0 win over the Mustangs in Burbank. His homer at St. Rita went into the trees more than 370 feet to straightaway center.
Home runs, however, aren’t Steger’s main objective. He confirmed he wants to hit the ball hard, and for most of his career, he has been a gap hitter.
“When I try to hit home runs and I press, that’s when I get tense and start producing outs,” Steger said. “So I just try to be a productive hitter in a lineup of productive hitters.
“With our team, it’s one hit after another hit after another hit and it trickles on down.”
St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus pointed out that Steger has been putting the ball over the wall all season long.
“He’s a home run hitter, but he’s more than a home run hitter,” Lotus said of Steger. “He’s been great in getting big hits in big situations.”
He’s not bad behind the plate, either.
“Steger is a communicator and gets me back in my groove when I’m in trouble,” Strzechowski said. “His mound visits are really helpful. He has positive words in the dugout before I pitch.
“Yeah, you can’t have a better catcher than Steger.”
Pete Lotus also appreciates Steger’s offensive and defensive abilities.
“He does a lot of things right,” Pete Lotus said of Steger. “He’s good at receiving the ball. He threw out a fast runner (Tuesday). We ask him to do a lot as a catcher.
“What makes him a really good player is he’s a good defensive player who’s a good hitter. That works.”
Steger also has had a love affair with Kentucky since his travel coaches helped arrange for him to attend a few camps in Lexington.
“I started going to the camps since I was in seventh grade,” Steger said. “I’ve built a relationship with those coaches. I fell in love with the school and the field and the people.”
He noted that the school was a good fit because it reminds him of the program he’s in now.
“Kentucky baseball replicates what we do here at St. Laurence,” Steger said. “I think it’s going to be easier to go from a high school that does the same thing as a college.
“That’s what helped force that decision to go there.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
