Baseball: Lake County all-area team captain

Throughout his youth sports career, which spanned many years and multiple sports, Riley Gowens stayed healthy.

No real injuries to speak of.

Then in high school, he hit a snag.

The good news was, his injury was fairly minor. The bad news was, it came at the very worst time.

Gowens, Libertyville's ace pitcher for the last two years, strained the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right forearm near his elbow. Nothing that is earth-shattering or that would require surgery.

But it happened in Libertyville's first playoff game a few weeks ago. And doctors told him that he would need to sit out for awhile, longer than the playoffs would run.

So Gowens, who had dreams of leading North Suburban Conference champion Libertyville to a state championship, could now only watch from the dugout.

And Libertyville was eventually eliminated in the sectional championship game. Without him.

"It was one of the toughest moments I've had to face," Gowens said. "I had played with so many of the guys on my team since we were like 8 years old. I've been friends with them since I could pick up a bat. It absolutely (stunk) not to be able to play with them.

"And it was just upsetting that I couldn't help them out."

Gowens certainly would have helped out. A lot.

He was on fire this season, putting up crazy good numbers and setting school records in the process.

At 9-1 on the season and with an anemic 0.298 ERA on one of the best teams in the county and in one of the best conferences in the state, Gowens has the chops to hang with the best and the resume required to be named captain of the Daily Herald's Lake County all-area baseball team.

"Riley had an unbelievable season," Libertyville coach Matt Thompson said. "I have not seen someone dominate on the mound with such consistency. He should be considered for pitcher of the year in the area, but also in the entire state."

Gowens, who will be playing at Illinois next season, pitched 47 innings and registered 87 strikeouts to just 11 walks. That 0.298 ERA is a school record, and he allowed just 2 earned runs all season, both to Mundelein in the same game.

"I always prepare hard for every season," Gowens said. "But when I committed to Illinois late last summer, I really wanted to turn my training up a notch. I also realized that this season was going to be my last with all my friends and I wanted to go all out for them."

Gowens hooked up with two former Mundelein star pitchers to help him train: Ryan Borucki and Brendan Murphy, both of whom play professionally in the minor leagues. They were home during the off-season and ran workouts with Gowens and Colin Fields, Libertyville's other ace quality pitcher.

"We were going three to four days a week them (Borucki and Murphy)," Gowens said of his off-season training. "They were taking us through the same exact workouts they were doing with their (minor league) teams. It was a great experience and a great opportunity for us."

Gowens says that after hanging out with Borucki and Murphy, he has seen his velocity increase from 87 mph to as high as 91 to 94 mph.

He has changed what he eats, more protein and more fruits and vegetables now. "I'm a broccoli guy now," he says.

He also lifts more efficiently and concentrates more on his core.

And he has taken to heart a tip that the pros gave him about his technique. They told him to make sure he finishes his pitches, by falling forward on his delivery.

"Doing that has really helped me with my control," Gowens said. "I didn't even get my first walk until the fifth game of the year. So I know it helped a lot. Working out with those guys and changing what I eat and improving my workout habits, it's all made me a lot better. It was really motivating because the whole time you're thinking, 'In five years, I want to be where they are. So I want to do what they're doing.' "

In the meantime, Gowens will be settling into the next phase of his life, college ball. He had about 10 Division I offers and chose Illinois over his other finalist Kansas because he was impressed with the coaching there.

"I think I made the best decision of my life because the coaches at Illinois do a great job. They've got great baseball minds and I think they will be able to help me get to the next level," Gowens said. "I've been playing baseball for as long as I can remember. It's been my dream to play on TV and in front of 40,000 people. I want to win a World Series, I want to get that chance someday."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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