As a freshman, Connor Elenteny was a three-sport athlete at Mount Carmel who did not quite envision himself being a star in any of the three.
Three years later, the senior right-hander is headed to Notre Dame as one of the state’s top pitchers.
“I remember freshman year, I was playing three sports and I was kind of like OK at everything,” Elenteny said. “I was on the freshman team for baseball. A lot of the other seniors on this team were on varsity or JV as freshmen that year.
“I was just throwing as hard as I could and I had no idea where it was going. I would not have expected to be where I’m at. I mean, freshman year against St. Rita, I plunked five hitters in a row.”
Elenteny’s final start against the Mustangs certainty went better than that first one.
He threw 5 2/3 strong innings Wednesday afternoon, striking out five and allowing two runs to lead the host Caravan to a 6-2 Catholic League Blue victory over St. Rita in Chicago.
Lewis recruit Jake Matise worked a perfect final 1 1/3 innings to earn the save for Mount Carmel (22-10, 10-4). Wake Forest commit TJ McQuillan singled and scored two runs, while Illinois recruit Anthony Chavez and Cylis Rainey each had RBI singles.
Davenport-bound senior catcher Mario Medina knew Elenteny wouldn’t need much run support.
“He’s gotten a lot more competitive,” Medina said of Elenteny. “He knows how to work in counts and he knows how to stay in the zone a lot more. Since freshman year, everything’s changed.”
Vinny Stubitsch delivered a two-run single for St. Rita (19-11, 5-9). Aden Gutierrez and Heartland recruit Colin Quinn had a hit and scored a run.
Elenteny made things tough on the Mustangs, though, mixing up his pitches to keep them off-balance.
“I used to be a guy that just throws hard,” Elenteny said. “Coach (Brian) Hurry doesn’t like that. He’s taught me to just do what I can to get outs and go as deep into the game as possible. That’s been my focus this year, and it’s proven to be successful.
“You don’t have to throw it as hard as you can every pitch.”
Hurry definitely loves seeing that approach from Elenteny, who improved to 6-1 with a 3.44 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings.
“We explained to Connor that pitching is about way more than velocity,” Hurry said. “It’s about locating, changing speeds and fielding your position, which he made a couple nice plays out there (Wednesday). I think he’s improved in every aspect of the game.
“He’s not just a hard thrower. He can change speeds and he can locate more than one pitch for a strike, and that’s what we’ve been emphasizing. Plus, he always gives us everything he’s got.”
Elenteny decided to go all-in on baseball after his freshman year.
“In Beverly growing up, everybody plays every sport and I had a great time doing that at Carmel, but at Carmel, every team is so competitive that you have to lock in on one sport,” Elenteny said. “I’m not good enough to focus on three things at once.
“There’s so much talent in every field, so you just have to focus on what you’re good at.”
Looking back on those days, it’s hard for Elenteny to believe his Caravan career is coming to a close. His graduation was Tuesday night.
“Graduation was awesome and it feels good, but hopefully I have a few more weeks with these guys,” he said. “People say it goes fast, but I can’t believe it. I feel like I was a sophomore yesterday.
“I’m excited for what’s ahead, but I’m going to miss this.”
