Conant's Wijas anything but star struck

Walt Wijas does not view himself as a star attraction.

Most of the opposing hitters who have taken a close look at the Conant senior right-handed pitcher this spring would disagree.

Even though most of Wijas' pitches are in or right around the strike zone, the lack of success with his 90-mph fastball, slider and changeup has been striking.

"We don't need many runs with Walt on the mound," said Conant second baseman Bobby Colucci, who smiled about getting a little more defensive work than everyone else since righties who do make contact are usually late.

The Kentucky-bound Wijas has allowed only 2 earned runs all year - all in a 5-3 loss to Fremd on April 22. To say he rebounded impressively from that start is an understatement.

Only a third-inning infield single spoiled Wijas' bid for perfection Monday against Elk Grove. He finished with a career-high 14 strikeouts and only one hitter reached a 3-ball count in his third shutout.

However, his demeanor after such a spectacular effort wasn't much different than it was days earlier at Fremd.

But it hides a burning desire Wijas has to succeed at 4-2 with a microscopic 0.35 ERA and 59 strikeouts with only 21 hits allowed (20 singles) and 9 walks in 40 innings.

Not only for himself but a Conant program that has gone from 9 wins a year ago to battling for a Mid-Suburban West title.

"I'll do anything for my teammates and sacrifice to get a win," Wijas said.

"When he's throwing he wants to carry the team," said Conant coach Jerry Song. "It's definitely expected with him being a senior and being the player he is.

"For some reason they play better for him."

Maybe it's because he doesn't seem to be caught up in all the attention of being under the radar gun of attention from major league scouts.

In the end what matters are "Ws" and not "Ks."

"He just wants to get outs and win the game," Colucci said. "That's the type of pitcher he is. Strikeouts are a bonus for him."

The minus from high strikeout totals is usually high pitch counts. Not for Wijas, who threw just 86 pitches in Monday's complete game and has consistently finished at less than 100.

"I've pretty much had good command for awhile," Wijas said. "I just locate my fastball.

"Sometimes I have trouble doing that and get it over the big part of the plate, but sometimes the speed is too much for the hitter."

Wijas made a big-time jump in velocity from 80 mph to 90 in the summer after his sophomore year. He said he's topped out at 93 mph.

But there weren't many chances to see the heat before this season. A shoulder strain cost him nearly a month last spring and limited him to 30 innings.

Then in the summer he suffered a strained ligament in his elbow and didn't start throwing again until January. He's produced one simple solution to avoiding similar troubles this spring.

"That's why I throw strikes," Wijas said. "I don't throw 100-some pitches every game and I go right after the hitters."

Fans can get an idea of what Kentucky was looking for Monday at Conant with Wijas and future college teammate Jon Carlson of Rolling Meadows expected to face each other in a potentially dynamic pitching duel.

But Wijas, who has a 2.9 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and scored 25 on the ACT, may have another option to consider in early June.

"I haven't really thought about it that much and I haven't really talked to the scouts that much," Wijas said. "I don't really know where I stand but it isn't something I'm worrying about.

"We'll see when the draft comes. I brush it off and worry about other things."

Such as delivering a division title to Conant for the first time in 10 years. If it happens it would be fitting for a staff where its top three starters have last names starting with a 'W' in Wijas, Derek Wojcik and Paul Warble.

"We're capable of winning every game," Wijas said. "We have very good pitching. All we have to do is get a couple of runs."

One is often enough for Walt Wijas.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com