Brian Brauer: Fox Valley baseball co-captain

Brian Brauer isn't sure how he evolved into a home-run hitter.

"Before this year I was always a contact hitter into the gaps," the Streamwood second baseman said. "I still see myself as a gap-power guy. I just want to make contact. I don't try for home runs. I just let the ball do the work, really."

Home runs came easily to the modest 18-year-old this season. The senior tapped the power reserves within his 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame to hit 15 longballs, a record-breaking performance that topped the previous Fox Valley area mark of 14, set by Jason Richardson of Larkin in 1999.

"I don't really know how it happened," said Brauer, who hit 4 home runs as a junior, 2 as a sophomore. "The wind was blowing out some games, which helped. The key is not to swing for the fences, or you won't hit the ball at all. Just make contact with the ball."

A lifetime diamond rat, Brauer was always drafted into pickup baseball games by older brothers Matt and Steve, both of whom played for the Sabres. Matt went on to play outfield at Elmhurst College. Steve just finished his junior season as a second baseman for Aurora University.

Little brother Brian grew into his swing this spring and captured a statistical rarity: a triple crown.

Brauer hit .525 (64-for-122) with 12 doubles, 3 triples, 61 RBI and 44 runs scored. He led the area in batting average, home runs and RBI, not to mention triples.

He also stole 17 bases in 17 attempts, posted a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me slugging percentage of 1.041, an on-base percentage of .567 and a 1.608 OPS (on-base plus slugging).

For his off-the-charts season, Brian Brauer of Streamwood has been named honorary co-captain of the 2009 Daily Herald Fox Valley all-area baseball team. He shares the honor with Huntley senior pitcher/center fielder Craig Lipp.

Off-season dedication and an improved lineup surrounding Brauer were two reasons for the power surge, his coach explained.

"Brian worked hard in the off-season and got a little stronger," Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said. "He hit the ball well last year, but I think a lot of it this year was they had to pitch to him and he capitalized on mistakes. He got fastballs and he hit them hard. That was the main thing."

Streamwood's young roster developed and the Sabres enjoyed a winning season (19-14). Brauer benefited from the protection of strong bats up and down the order. He was no man on an island.

Senior leadoff hitter Ryan Kiesel, who has played shortstop to Brauer's second base for seven straight seasons, hit .470 and had an on-base percentage of .533. He usually got on base ahead of Brauer and made pitchers pay attention to him by stealing 11 bases in 11 tries.

Opposing pitchers also had to worry about sophomore call-ups Josh Harris (.340, 7 doubles, 4 HR) and Tim Cohen (.314, 7 doubles, 4 HR), juniors Shawn Jordan (.301, 5 doubles, 18 RBI) and Dylan Noncek (.287, 9 doubles) and senior Matt Korntved (.295, 19 RBI).

But Brauer was the keystone, and he wasted little time setting the tone. He hit longballs in Streamwood's first three games against Crystal Lake South, Huntley and West Chicago.

"I think once you start hitting them it gets a little bit easier," Diversey said. "For about a month he got on a run where he was just pounding the ball." Brauer went from merely in the zone to beyond unconscious the week of May 4-9.

On Monday, May 4 he hit a solo home run in a 5-1 home loss to Bartlett, his 10th of the season. The ball was hit on a rope over the left-center field fence. Fortunately, it didn't hit any of the competing track athletes when it skipped across the oval at Millennium Field.

On Tuesday of that week, Brauer hit a 3-run shot in the third inning of a 6-0 victory over Elgin. After a day off, he hit 1 of his team's 4 home runs in an 11-0 rout of Elgin.

The consecutive game streak ended on Friday, when he failed to go yard in a lopsided loss to St. Charles North. South Elgin subsequently kept Brauer in the park during the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

However, he went deep twice in Game 2, smacking a 2-run home run in the first inning with Kiesel aboard followed by a fifth-inning solo shot in an 11-5 victory. That was home run No. 14, tying the area record. He was seeing the ball so well it almost became cartoonlike.

"It was like the ball was the size of a beach ball," Brauer said of the hot streak. "It was great. I would come back into the dugout and teammates would say, 'I think you're having a pretty good week.' I'd just say, 'Aw, thanks.' "

Of course, the home run stroke can disappear as mysteriously as it appears. Tied for the area record, Brauer stayed hot at the plate but went without a four-bagger during a rain-plagued week of games against South Elgin, Lake Park and St. Charles East. Diversey said Brauer might have been pressing a bit for the first time all year.

On May 20 - the last day of the regular season - the home-run swing returned for a final bow. Brauer walloped a 3-run blast in the fourth inning of the Sabres' 11-0 victory over St. Charles East to set a new area bench mark.

True to his humble nature, he put the individual achievement second to what the team accomplished.

"It was really satisfying being part of this team," Brauer said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to get that first regional title. We worked really hard for it. We didn't get it, but we still got 19 wins, so that's big. It was a good team effort. I love this team. We've played with each other through little league and travel leagues, so it was good to accomplish this with my friends."

Brauer's big season caught the eye of college coaches. He committed to the program at NAIA Division II Judson University this week, choosing the Elgin school over Quincy College.

"I'm looking forward to it," Brauer said of next season at Judson.

As for his final high school season, now that he's rewritten the record book?

"It was just one of those years," Brauer said.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>All-Area Teams</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Cook County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298406"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298405">Softball captain: Nikki Goranson</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298398"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298397">Baseball captain: Jon Carlson</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298403"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298402">Soccer captains: Laura Mayer, Mary Kubiuk</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298401"><B>Boys volleyball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298400">Volleyball captain: Chris Falknor</a></li> </ul> <h2>DuPage County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298388"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298392">Softball captain: Hannah Santora</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298388"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298582">Baseball captain: Jack DeAno</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298391"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298394">Soccer captain: Leah Fortune</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298390"><B>Boys volleyball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298393">Volleyball captain: Joe Kelly</a></li> </ul> <h2>Fox Valley</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298362">Softball captain: Kimberly Pierce</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298660"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298356">Baseball co-captain: Brian Brauer</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298355">Baseball co-captain: Craig Lipp</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298658"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298361">Soccer captain: Cori Wronski</a></li> </ul> <h2>Lake County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298410"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298408">Softball captain: Olivia Duehr</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298407"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298396">Baseball captain: Chas Evans</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298404"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298409">Soccer captain: Courtney Levy</a></li> </ul> <h2>Tri-Cities</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298385"><B>Softball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298383"><B>Baseball</B></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=298382"><B>Girls soccer</B></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>