Elgin CC appears to have many strengths
Bill Angelo has set a standard of excellence in his 15-year tenure as head baseball coach at Elgin Community College.
Last year was certainly no exception. His Spartans went 41-16, finished second in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate College and took third in the region, losing to Madison Tech in the winner’s bracket championship. Madison Tech went on to finish third in the country.
Angelo has plenty of reasons for continued optimism based on a mix of returning top-tier performers and his usual batch of strong recruits.
ECC, which has gone to the NJCAA World Series in five of the last 8 years, returns position players Justin Kalusa (CF, Larkin), Sam Weinberg (LF, St. Charles North) and Jeff Ehlers (1B, Burlington Central). Kalusa was a second-team All-American pick last year after hitting .421. Weinberg caught last year for a backstop thin Spartan squad, but shifts to left this season.
Angelo also is excited about the return of top-of-the-rotation pitchers Ryan Hudspeth (LHP, 6-1, St. Charles North grad) and Hampshire product Ryan Burke (4-1). Burke also split time at first base with Ehlers a year ago.
“We expect big things out of both of them,” said Angelo, referring to Hudspeth and Burke. “Both of the are throwing a little harder and both are key in what we are doing this year.”
The infield features University of Nebraska transfer Ryan Richardson (St. Charles North) at shortstop and the tandem of Bobby Thorson and Scott Harm (Larkin) at third. Thorson, a member of the 2011 Kaneland Class 3A state-title team, will also be counted on to provide key innings on the mound.
“Bobby is one of our top arms,” the coach stated. “He’s a strong kid that competes and has a lively fastball. He’ll hit in the middle of our lineup.”
Burlington Central grad Drew Stover and West Chicago product Johnny Wehr are competing for the second base job, while Matt Kaiser, a Lake Park grad and a transfer from Eastern Illinois University, will log time at first base.
Kalusa and Weinberg will be joined in the outfield by Romeoville alum Matt Gillis, who could fit into the top third of the team’s order.
Matt Stevens (St. Charles North) will handle the catching duties. He’s a transfer from Central Michigan.
“Matt is a big, strong kid with a great arm and he swings the bat well,” said Angelo. “He’s pretty polished behind the plate.”
Kaneland alum Sam Komel will help the team at designated hitter and at first. Streamwood speedster Nate Pearson will see time at a variety of positions, while Conant grad Art Sutter will provide further depth on the mound.
“Art is a strong kid. He’s 6-1 and 200 pounds with a pretty good fastball and a really good slider,” said Angelo. “He’s going to be in the rotation for us.”
ECC will also enjoy the boost provided by the return of Bartlett grad Alex Van Ness to the mound. Van Ness was a redshirt last year. He’s 7-0 in his career at ECC.
“Alex has come back from labrum surgery,” Angelo explained. “He’s just about healthy and should be good to go when the season starts. He had a great freshman year. He’s a guy that pounds the strike zone and everything moves. Hitters have a hard time barreling up the baseball on him.”
Angelo is especially pleased how the team is shaping up on the offensive end.
“I like the way we hit,” he said. “I think we should be pretty good offensively and should be able to swing the bat with anybody.”
Angelo anticipates a strong presence on the mound and behind his pitchers.
“Defensively we are going to be very good,” he said. “At shortstop I don’t know if I have had someone as consistent as I think Ryan is going to be. He seems to make every play look routine. I like our strength up the middle. On the mound, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win. We have a bunch of guys that are strike-throwers. We shouldn’t hurt ourselves walking and hitting people.”
Angelo noted pitching depth could be a concern.
“If I had to name a weakness it’s depth in the pitching staff,” he said. “We have 11 guys that can pitch, but five or six are two-way guys. I have to learn how to use guys and not burn out the staff. It’s something we haven’t had to deal with. Usually we have 10 guys that would only pitch. It’s just the way things worked out this year. It will be a challenge early, but we’ll figure out how to make it work.”
Angelo feels the conference will be competitive up and down the list of teams.
“Everybody else is getting better,” he stated. “It’s pretty strong throughout the list. There aren’t any easy wins out there anymore. The other coaches are doing a great job of making this conference competitive.”
Angelo, 14 wins away from 500 for his career (486-305, .614 winning percentage), sees a roster that has the potential to turn in a signature ECC season.
“Position player-wise, we are better than last year,” he said. “In the infield, I think we are a lot better. Our catching is much better. We have solid guys on the mound. We have a chance to be really good and compete with anybody. Hopefully we’ll get hot at the right time and make a big run in the postseason.”
ECC is slated to open the season Sunday at Joliet before heading to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a five-game junket. ECC is scheduled to open the home portion of its season at Spartan Field April 1 at 1 p.m. against Harper College.
Angelo recently announced three current rosterees have made four-year college choices. Richardson will play at Michigan State, while Stevens will head to Tusculum College, a Division II powerhouse in Tennessee. Sophomore pitcher Liam Pegg will play next year at Roosevelt University. More than 70 players have advanced to the university level under Angelo’s direction.