When asked to sum up his senior season, Bartlett’s Brandon Pelz picked one word for hitting and another for pitching.
For pitching, it was dominant, which was hard to argue. He was, indeed, the Hawks’ ace.
For hitting, the Valparaiso commit chose unexpected.
“I kind of came out hot and was like, ‘All right, we’ve got something here,’” Pelz said. “I was kind of waiting, thinking it might end. I went through a rough patch and then I was right back.
“I was like, ‘I’m just going to keep going with it, see how far I can go with it and see how long I can keep hitting for the team.’”
Pelz, who played first base Wednesday, continued his tear on offense with a two-run double in an 8-3 loss to Maine South. It gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead in a Class 4A Bartlett Sectional semifinal.
Maine South (23-15) came roaring back, however, and continued to tack on runs to advance to Saturday’s sectional championship game against Lake Park (18-20), a 10-6 winner in the other semifinal over York (15-20).
Pelz’s double in the third inning scored Ryan Raethz and Mason Leiterman for Bartlett (25-11). Ryan Smith doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Langendorf in the sixth.
Evan Adamczewski led Maine South with two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Gavin Krischke added a three-run homer.
Pelz hit his double off travel teammate Jack Gianikos, who worked five-plus inning for the win.
“We work with the same pitching coach,” Pelz said. “Situationally, I knew what I was getting and he threw it down the middle. He even told me after the game, ‘Don’t talk to me again.’
“Big hit and I’m glad it was my last one. Up 2-0, obviously, you think you’re going to win the game.”
The fact that it was one of the team’s big three seniors — Pelz, Josh Colaizzi or Vince Yario — setting the tone was no surprise to Bartlett coach Alex Coan.
“Brandon is one of our guys,” Coan said. “He stepped up when we needed him most. I’m proud of how he competed this entire season to get us to this point.”
Colaizzi and Pelz both made varsity as freshmen, so Colaizzi was happy to see Pelz have one more big moment in a Bartlett uniform.
“That was awesome to see Brandon have a double there and score two runs,” Colaizzi said. “I always love when he succeeds. We came up together. It was a heck of a four years we had.”
Bartlett came in undermanned as Yario missed the game. He broke his hand Saturday when he was hit by a pitch for the walk-off win in the regional final.
“We missed him,” Pelz said. “You could tell. That was one of our best players all year.
“It’s a rough way for him to go out.”
The impact those three had on the program, however, will last a long time.
Bartlett won two conference titles and two regional titles. The Hawks only had one of each before their arrival. Pelz set the all-time pitching strikeout record and Colaizzi set the all-time hits record.
“What this senior group has done for our program is accelerated the growth of everything we anticipate continuing,” Coan said. “They left behind a legacy that I hope our younger guys can appreciate and grow into.”
Pelz ended up hitting .336 this spring with 13 extra-base hits and 31 RBIs. On the mound, his 1.04 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 54 innings speak for themselves.
Valparaiso has offered the chance for Pelz to come in as a freshman as a two-way player, and he can’t wait to get going.
“They gave me the option,” Pelz said. “I’m really excited to go to Valpo and even more excited to swing a bat still.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
