Big week looms for Elgin baseball as it tries to repeat its NWCC championship
MARION — Next week will be championship week for the Elgin baseball team.
On Monday, it travels to Hardin Northern, and Wednesday is another road trip to North Baltimore. Win them both and the Comets lock up a Northwest Central Conference title.
"I keep stressing on the boys that every game keeps getting bigger from here on out. I think they’re starting to understand and they’ve been responding," Elgin coach Andy Steck said.
Baseball standings: Which teams remain in the championship picture?
Baseball stats: Who are the Marion-area leaders in hitting and pitching?
How did they get to this point?
The Comets are 9-5 overall, but started the season with a 3-4 record as they struggled to find their mojo with the on-again, off-again nature of the early season caused by weather.
"For some of the kids, it’s been hard for them to get in a groove," Steck said. "(The pitchers) haven’t been able to get the innings that they’re normally getting. It’s a rhythm thing."
As the weather improved in the middle of April, so did the Comets. They rattled off six straight victories to run their NWCC record to 7-0 because of the spurt.
"It’s a lot of bullpen (sessions inside)," Steck said. "I tell them I know inside practices are tedious, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do."
Numbers improve for Comets
The six consecutive wins against all NWCC competition resulted in Elgin outscoring their opponents by a collective 57-9 in the streak.
Before the start of last week, the Comets were led at the plate by Jacob Isler's .444 batting average followed by Mitchell Askew's .406, Quinten Harrison's .382, Stephen Castillo-Carey's .343, Trey Morgan's .318, Jacob Brown's .314 and Donaven Stith's .310.
Through 11 games, Harrison was tops with two home runs, 10 RBIs and 13 runs, while Castillo-Carey had 13 runs and 12 steals. Stith pitched 29 strikeouts with a 1.68 ERA, while Wood posted a 0.70 ERA and 12 strikeouts. Askew added a 3.23 ERA and 13 strikeouts and Castillo-Carey had 19 strikeouts to date this season.
Up next for Elgin
Hardin Northern is 10-4 overall and 5-0 in the NWCC, so a win over the Polar Bears clinches Elgin at least a share of the league title. North Baltimore is 5-11, but 5-1 in the league, so the Tigers will see the game with the Comets as a potential conference-clinching matchup, too.
"I’ve been stressing to take one day at a time," Steck said as his team will try to repeat last year's NWCC title as an unbeaten champion.
The Comets have postseason hopes, too, as they will take part in the Division IV Central District tournament draw on Sunday, May 5.
"I’ve said this with this group of seniors who I’ve had since they were little kids that this should be the year where we can make a nice run. We’ll see what happens," Steck said.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Two road games will determine Elgin's fate in NWCC baseball
