Matt Milroy: Tri-Cities baseball captain

Marmion didn't lose many baseball games this year, but there was something as telling from one of those 4 losses as any of the 22 victories.

It was the sounds coming from the St. Charles East field at last week's Class 4A regional between the Cadets and Bartlett.

With the Hawks well on their way to a 10-4 win, there certainly was plenty of happy chatter coming from the Bartlett bench and their fans.

But there also was one consistent voice coming from the Marmion outfield and the Marmion dugout.

"Let's go, keep your heads in the game!"

"That away 11!"

"Let's go kid, just like BP!"

That voice didn't stop when the Hawks took their first lead, it didn't stop when Bartlett doubled its lead, and it didn't stop with 2 outs in the seventh inning and the Cadets still down 6 runs.

In fact, the more Marmion got behind, the more the voice increased.

That voice belonged to Marmion senior Matt Milroy, the best player on his team, the one who did all he could to help his team advance reaching base in 3 of his 4 at-bats.

And when that wasn't enough, he took to encouraging everyone - something that came as no surprise to Marmion coach Dave Rakow.

"He's definitely a team leader and didn't want the guys to quit," Rakow said. "He was in their ear all game trying to keep them fired up."

Milroy is the captain of the 2009 All-Area baseball team after a splendid senior season on the mound, at the plate, in center field and on the basepaths.

The University of Illinois recruit hit .466, with 41 hits, 8 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs, 35 RBI and a .556 on-base percentage.

On the mound, Milroy went 7-2 with a 1.76 ERA, striking out 101 in just 51 2/3 innings. He averaged 13.7 strikeouts a game.

And we've already talked about what he's like in the dugout.

"When we have younger guys, you have to keep their heads up," Milory said. "Once the seniors get down, everybody gets down. That keeps the younger guys up and helps us play our game."

While the end came sooner than it wanted, Marmion had an outstanding year highlighted by winning the Suburban Catholic Conference championship.

Milroy was in the middle of it with that .466 average, which ranked second all-time at Marmion. First? That would be Milroy as a junior when he hit .467.

Milroy maintained that lofty average this year while not seeing as many fastballs. And with his dominating numbers on the mound, Milroy has pro scouts considering him for the upcoming MLB Draft.

"The pros are looking at him for both (pitching and hitting)," Rakow said. "A couple teams wanted to see him hit with a wood bat. Most teams want him to be a pitcher. If he ends up going to U of I, I asked (Illinois) coach (Dan) Hartleb and he said he wasn't sure. They are going to get him down there, try him out and see what he looks like. They talked about maybe an outfielder and closer."

Milroy said even if he is drafted it won't change his mind about where he'll be next fall.

"I'm not even thinking about professional baseball," Milroy said. "It's college."

Coming into last year, Milroy had yet to play a varsity game. Two years later, he's off to the Big Ten.

Milroy came on strong at the end of his junior season, just like Marmion did in winning 17 of 20 games to claim their first regional title since 1969.

Milroy's signature performance came in the Rochelle sectional when he blasted 3 home runs in a semifinal win over Belvidere North. He finished the year with a school record 7.

"That was a highlight, best team in school history," Milroy said. "I wish we could have done it this year."

Milroy was quick to credit his three coaches at Marmion for his improvement.

"It's (Marmion) a place where I got to grow up into how I am today," Milroy said. "I know coming in I was real raw. I think I've improved a lot thanks to coach Rakow, coach (Tim) Holt and coach (Bill) Copp. You can see the growth throughout all the seniors."

Copp worked with Milroy on the mound, and after a 3.75 ERA as a junior Milroy dropped nearly 2 runs off his ERA this spring.

Holt was the coach who was always hard on Milroy, pushing him to be his best.

"I've coached many great players in the past, some who've been drafted out of high school and many many who've moved on to play in college," said Holt, who coached before at Joliet Catholic. "I took it as a great responsibility in trying to get the most out of Matt. He is a freak of nature, his athletic ability."

Besides those God-given skills, Holt again praised Milroy's attitude.

"I think it is very important for a team is that I could be mean and extremely hard on Matt for the other players to learn from. And he knew that and wouldn't get an attitude, which made him much better and the players around him," Holt said. "He took it like a man and realized it was for everyone to learn from. And that says a lot.

"Too many times all over the athletic spectrum, stars are coddled. I do not believe in that style, and I believe stars need to be made examples of for lesser talented players to learn from. Everyone will learn and chemistry for a team won't be eroded from the inside when you let the leader off the hook for bad attitudes, not working hard or doing things wrong."

Holt also loved Milroy's energy.

"His motor doesn't stop and he wants to keep practicing after practice is over," Holt said. "Sometimes we wished he would just relax and rest, but he was just like a little kid, continuing to want to play and play non stop. He'd want to hurry up and start practice and then keep going after it's over. You don't see that very often."

Rakow just hopes to have another kid like Milroy to coach.

"For a lot of coaches he might be a once in a career type player," Rakow said. "I hope I get a cople more like him. I don't have as much perspective as a lot of coaches being my second year but it's definitely a blessing having a kid like Matt."