HERALD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: GLENBROOK SOUTH'S JAMES HACKETT
The junior shortstop from Glenbrook South got off to an incredible start to his baseball season.
Helping the Titans to a 4-1 record from April 19-24, and 6-3 overall entering Tuesday's game at Maine South, so far the 6-foot-3, 175-pound slugger has accounted for 22 runs.
In 21 at-bats last week Hackett collected 9 hits and 4 bases on balls, for a batting average of an even .500. A left-handed hitter but right-handed thrower - he can throw the ball around 90 mph from shortstop - Hackett hit 4 home runs in those 18 official plate appearances, and drove in 13 runs. He scored 9 runs as well.
On April 24 at Maine West he hit his third and fourth home runs of the season, added a hit and drove in 4 runs. That gave him an on-base percentage of .571, a slugging percentage of .571 and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.738.
It didn't add to his athlete of the week criteria, but on Tuesday Hackett hammered a 395-foot home run that landed on the roof of the storage building between the baseball field and football field.
"He's been killing it," said Titans coach Steve Stanicek.