Jacob Gross’ return would be ‘big boost’ for L-P: NewsTribune baseball notebook

La Salle-Peru has had a big hole in its lineup since late March.

Senior third baseman/pitcher Jacob Gross played only four games before suffering an injury that has kept him out since.

During those four games, Gross was 6 for 13 (.462) with three home runs and 10 RBIs. He also pitched six innings, giving up one unearned run and striking out 12 batters.

Despite missing so much time, Gross is tied for the area lead in home runs with Putnam County’s Johnathon Stunkel and Bureau Valley’s Elijah Endress.

L-P coach Matt Glupczynski said the Cavaliers will know more this week about the possibility of Gross returning.

“Jacob Gross is an elite hitter and huge piece of the puzzle for our team,” Glupczynski said. “He’s a three-year varsity contributor. He has the ability to single-handedly carry an offense. Getting him back would be a big boost for our team and lineup.”

TOUGH CONFERENCE

The Tri-County Conference has been strong this season with five teams ranked in the top 15 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.

Marquette (20-3, 11-1 TCC) is No. 2, St. Bede (17-4, 8-3) is No. 3, Roanoke-Benson (15-8, 9-5) is No. 13, Dwight (17-8, 6-5) is No. 14, and Putnam County (16-7, 6-6) is No. 15.

Father McGivney Catholic holds the top spot at 25-2.

“The Tri-County has always been a great conference,” St. Bede coach Bill Booker said. “Schools with quality, well-run programs, good coaching and tradition lead to a very competitive league.

“I jokingly called the TCC ‘the SEC of 1A baseball’ the other day. In reality, that’s not far off.”

Booker said playing in a tough conference can benefit a team come the postseason.

“Anytime a conference is strong like the TCC, it helps prepare teams for postseason competition,” Booker said. “There isn’t an off day when it comes to the conference games.”

RECORD-SETTING SEASON

Bureau Valley is in the midst of a record-setting season in the Storm’s first year in the Lincoln Trail Conference.

The Storm are 18-6 overall, which matches the school record for wins in a season set in 2004. Bureau Valley won its first six conference games before losing a pair to Monmouth United on Saturday.

“We’ve done some great things at the plate and in the field, but it really comes down to the depth of our pitching,” BV coach Ryan Schisler said. “We’ve had great performances from our starters in Bryce Helms, Logan Philhower and Blake Foster, but having guys coming out of the bullpen like Elijah Endress, Drake Taylor and Brock Rediger, who have been equally effective and have done a great job of throw strikes has made the season for us. We always target throwing 60% strikes, and as a staff that’s exactly where we are sitting right now, which has a great deal to do with our success thus far this season.”

FATHER-SON EXCHANGE

Most pregame exchanges of lineup cards and ground rules are pretty commonplace with few people taking a second glance.

Saturday’s exchange between the Hall and Marquette baseball teams at Ottawa came with a lot more meaning.

Hall assistant coach Mike DeAngelo got the nod from head coach Tom Keegan to bring out the Red Devils’ lineup card to exchange with his son, Jimmy, the new pitching coach for the Crusaders.

Mike called it a “memorable experience.”

Jimmy was an ace pitcher for the Red Devils, earning the win in the 2018 state championship game.

PITCHING DEPTH

The area has plenty of pitching depth this spring.

La Salle-Peru sophomore Jett Hill leads the area in ERA at 1.20.

Five other area pitchers have an ERA under 2 in Hall’s Braden Curran (1.26), St. Bede’s Alan Spencer (1.32), Bureau Valley’s Logan Philhower (1.33), Putnam County’s Johnathon Stunkel (1.36) and Earlville’s Aaden Browder (1.64).

Spencer and Philhower are tied atop the area leaderboard in pitching wins, as Spencer is 6-0 and Philhower is 6-1.

The Bruins and Storm aces also are one-two in strikeouts, as Spencer has fanned 68 batters and Philhower has struck out 67.