Fearday ends dominant baseball season with NTC MVP
Nov. 3—EFFINGHAM — Brock Fearday never shivers when his name is called to play in a big game.
Be it pitching or hitting, the St. Anthony junior delivers.
He delivered when his team needed him the most his sophomore year in both the regional and sectional championship games and did so again earlier this year in the National Trail Conference Tournament championship.
"He wants that role," head coach Tony Kreke said. "He wants those big games and I think our team knows that. He has a high IQ and when you can pair that up with great athletic ability, you can do really nice things and his stats show."
Fearday finished the season pitching to a 0.95 earned run average for a Bulldogs team that finished the fall season with a 24-1 record. He threw 36 2/3 innings, went 6-0, and gave up 27 hits, nine runs — five earned — and six walks to 51 strikeouts.
At the plate, he was just as sensational, though.
Fearday batting .426 with a .511 on-base percentage, a .618 slugging percentage and a 1.129 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He had 29 hits, five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 28 RBI. He scored 14 times, drew 13 walks and only struck out eight times.
"Very complete. He can do all things," Kreke said. "You know you're going to get his best effort."
Ultimately, what that effort led to was Fearday earning the National Trail Conference Most Valuable Player Award following St. Antony's 5-2 win over Altamont in the conference title game.
The award could have gone to any number of Bulldogs. Connor Roepke and Beau Adams joined Fearday on the NTC All-Conference First Team. Aiden Lauritzen earned a spot on the NTC All-Conference Second Team.
Fearday, however, was the one to garner the honors.
Very humbly, though, the ever-quiet Fearday redirected back to his teammates for helping him achieve what he earned.
"I couldn't do it without the team and my catcher," Fearday said. "Roepke, he's a staple in this program and he deserves as much credit as I do with slowing the game down for me and calling the pitches, calling the game."
Kreke went further into discussing the chemistry between Roepke and Fearday. The two have been together now, full-time, for three seasons — two fall and one spring.
"The chemistry between those two guys is amazing," Kreke said.
"It's really Connor with the whole pitching staff, though. You got a guy who works extremely hard and never takes a day off and is always doing whatever he can to help the team out. When you see that type of leadership, you know at any time, you can throw any kind of pitch in any situation."
Additionally, what can also help in any situation is stellar defense. Fearday had that against the Indians.
Adams made a spectacular grab in centerfield that robbed a home run. Kreke also noted other plays that happened throughout that also made a difference.
"In any given championship game, what I try to tell the guys is that pitching and defense is what's going to get you to those championship games," Kreke said. "There were plays made on the infield that were not routine and that really helped save that game."
That, coupled with superb leadership and experience in big moments, should surely make for another successful spring season, and Kreke knows that Fearday will be at the forefront of it all.
Contact EDN Sports Editor
Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
