By Bobby Narang
Lyons High School senior pitcher, Tucker King, is aiming for a big final season.
The Cincinnati recruit fine-tuned his mechanics during the offseason to put himself in a position to lead the Lions’ pitching staff this season.
As a junior, King finished with a 7-2 record with 34 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA to be named to the West Suburban Silver All-Conference team.
“I’ve been feeling great on the mound so far with a clear mind and confident,” King said. “I’ve just been keeping up my fast pace and control of the game really has a difference so far this year.”
King said he’s already noticed a big difference on the mound this spring. He tossed a complete-game one-hit shutout with three strikeouts against Oak Park-River Forest April 4.
“Last year I had a problem with usually all three pitches consistently for strikes,” King said. “It caused me to raise my pitch count more than I wanted to, so this year the goal every start has been to pound the zone as much as possible with all three pitches and just let my defense work. There’s no reason to be trying to blow it by people.
“My command has gotten a lot better because I improved my mechanics over the offseason. I switched my arm to a little higher slot and it has allowed me to stay connected with the catcher all the way through. I’m just going to go into every start with the same attack plan and execute it for the rest of the year.”
Lyons coach Kevin Diete said King is on track for a memorable season.
“Tucker’s a special kid to have,” Diete said. “He’s all about the team and getting better and pushing the team. He’s leading the charge for us. He’s very comfortable on the mound and poised. He’s pitching now. Sometimes pitchers have a tendency to try and throw as hard as they can and try and burn it by guys. This year he’s crafted out his pitches and location.
“He’s throwing hard but also hitting it for strikes and is consistently in the zone.”
The Lyons Lions (5-1, 1-0) have opened up the season on a strong note, relying on quality pitching and hitting to hit the double-digit run more in three of their six games.
“It’s been good with the team so far in terms of how hard they’ve been working,” Diete said. “It’s a long road, a marathon not a spring. We tell our guys to get better from every single loss and are hopefully playing our baseball by the end of the season. I’ve been impressed with our hitting and defense so far.
The Lions brought back three starters from last season, most notably infielder Blake Ragsdale and outfielder Luke Nicholaus from a 21-12 team.
“We’ve got a couple of positional guys coming back but they weren’t consistent starters,” Diete said. “Our pitching is strong with Tucker and Mercer Krantz and Jack Slightom, an up-and-coming player who is getting a lot of Big 10 looks, including from Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State. Pitching and defense have been our tradition. We would like to keep that tradition, so hitting is a bonus but pitching and defense wins you most of the games.”
Another team looking for a big season is Wheaton Academy. The Warriors, though, are off to a rough start, mainly because of a massive roster turnover and playing stiff competition in the Cocoa Beach, Florida area.
The Warriors won 17 straight games last season following a loss in their season opener.
The Warriors (3-7) have three key starters in senior outfielder Brandon Kiebles, senior catcher Gunnar Fitzpatrick, and senior outfielder/pitcher Gino Spinelli back this season
“We’re a little different from last year,” Wheaton Academy coach Justin Swider said. “We have two players on the varsity from last year, but expectations for the boys are the same as last year. We have some guys competing for spots now, just trying to future that out especially after playing some really good Florida teams.
“Five games in five days is tough. I was pleased with a few things. We had a chance to win ball games, but you have to capitalize on your chances. We saw some good things on the trip.”