Prep baseball: Despite bad back, Sycamore's Mizgalski matures into Player of the Year

SYCAMORE – As a junior last season, Sycamore pitcher Jack Mizgalski relied too much on trying to blow his fastball past opposing hitters.

A more mature senior ace pitcher in 2017, Mizgalski learned how to balance his fastball with also relying on his ability to throw any pitch in any count. The difference paid off with him tying a school record for lowest ERA in a season and is the Daily Chronicle 2017 Baseball Player of the Year.

“It’s a little bit of an ego where you think, ‘OK, I think I’m better than the guy at the plate, so I’m just going to throw as hard as I can and see if he can catch up to it.’ I learned this year it takes more than just throwing hard,” Mizgalski said.

As a senior, Mizgalski finished the year a perfect 5-0 with a 0.93 ERA – tying Will Strack for lowest in school history – and finished with two saves and 72 strikeouts in 522/3 innings. His strikeouts dipped from his junior year – he had 85 in 2016, when he went 7-3 with a 2.97 ERA.

“Without a doubt the biggest step he took as a pitcher was he started pitching and stopped standing out there trying to throw as hard as he can,” Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said. “There’s a certain maturity that comes with that.”

Mizgalski, who laughed that it was still more satisfying striking out a batter with a blazing fastball, was no slouch at the plate, either. He hit .396 with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs and 27 RBIs as the Spartans’ No. 3 hitter.

While on the mound, Mizgalski said he was at his best in a no-hitter against Hononegah on April 4, hitting his spots and throwing with velocity en route to 12 strikeouts and a 5-0 victory for the Spartans.

However, there was a price that came with the outing. He said that it was the first time he felt discomfort that eventually turned into pain in his back that lasted the entire season. There were moments that made it worse – hitting a home run against Kaneland, for example – before the pain became so severe that he spent two weeks near the end of the season barely pitching.

“Whenever I had the motion where you’re twisting and bending at the same time, it was like a sharp pain in the lower back, and every time I did that, it really hurt and then I’d be standing up there and I’d feel it pulsing, and I’d wait for it to calm down then go again and it would be another sharp pain,” Mizgalski said. “It’s something where if I wanted to start a game, I just have to make sure Cavanaugh doesn’t see me wincing when I’m walking. That kind of hurt me because I did that against Richmond-Burton, telling him I was fine, putting on a poker face, and that was the time it really hurt and took me out of some games.”

After a game against Batavia on May 8 in which he threw 105 pitches and earned the win before wrapping ice on his lower back, he only threw one inning against Richmond-Burton on May 15 before coming in for relief for more than four innings in the season-ending loss to Marmion on May 27.

“I noticed that he was getting better each day – there were four or five days where he didn’t do anything,” Cavanaugh said. “He got a little bit closer and a little bit closer at finishing his pitches. That’s what he wasn’t doing at all during his bullpen sessions.”

Mizgalski said he never got an actual diagnosis, saying that he went to physical therapy and a chiropractor, and it was hypothesized that maybe his pelvis was out of line. He admitted that he had gloomy thoughts of why the back injury had to show up as the Spartans were heading into the playoffs and that it affected his approach at the plate – switching out power swings for taking pitches the other way.

Even with a banged-up back, Mizgalski was still the best pitcher in the area and frequently had to bounce back after a miscue in the field. For Cavanaugh, one of Mizgalski’s biggest strengths was his ability to face adversity from outside forces.

“It seemed like the times he was in trouble it was because of poor defense,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s really good at stepping back and taking a deep breath and trying to find the positives in a situation.”

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Daily Chronicle 2017 Baseball All-Region Team

Baseball

POY – Jack Mizgalski, Sycamore

First team

Zach Butler, sr., C, Genoa-Kingston –

An anchor behind the plate for the Cogs, Butler finished the season hitting .345, with a .461 on-base percentage, 13 runs and 12 stolen bases. Defensively, he caught six runners stealing and picked off four other runners.

Robert Dudzinski, sr., 1B, Kaneland –

Dudzinski provided plenty of punch for the Kaneland batting order, hitting .371 with 28 RBIs and 14 runs. He had an on-base percentage of .475 and made the all-conference team.

Jack Marshall, sr., SS/P, Kaneland –

A critical part of the Knights' 20-win team, Marshall hit .308 with 32 runs and 16 RBIs, while finishing second on the team with nine stolen bases and had three home runs.

Zach Carlsen, jr., SS/P, Sycamore –

A strong infielder and a tough hitter to get out, Carlsen finished the year hitting .349 near the top of the Spartans order. Also a side-arming reliever, Carlsen was 1-2 with a 2.90 ERA on the mound.

Luke Calabrese, sr., 3B, Kaneland –

Calabrese was a major offensive threat for the Knights, hitting .380 with 29 runs and 20 RBIs. He also led the team with 14 stolen bases.

Luke Gomes, jr., OF, Kaneland –

A speedy outfielder who provided plenty of range defensively, he hit .341 with 24 runs and tied Marshall with nine stolen bases. He had an on-base percentage of .429.

James Marcinkowski, sr., OF/P, Sycamore –

While he had a slightly down year offensively, hitting .263, he was a key reliever for the Spartans and went 4-1 with three saves.

Tyler Didio, sr., OF, Sycamore –

While the Spartans had stretches in which they struggled offensively, Didio was one of the bright spots in the order – finishing the year hitting .379.

Bryce Wheeler, jr, P/1B, DeKalb –

The left-hander was a strikeout machine on the mound for the Barbs. He finished the year 2-4 with a 2.82 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. In a regional semifinal win against Rockford East, Wheeler fanned 12 batters in 6 2/3 innings for a no-decision.

Jarod Montavon, sr., P, Sycamore –

The No. 3 pitcher for the Spartans, Montavon closed out his career with a strong season – going 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA. He earned a no-decision in Sycamore's 3-2 win over Sandwich in the regional final, allowing two unearned runs in four-plus innings.

Jacob Cavanaugh, jr., P, Sycamore –

Cavanaugh was the Spartans' No. 2 pitcher, going 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA on the season. Offensively, he hit .258 while also playing first base.

Derek Kyler, sr., P/SS, DeKalb –

Kyler was a big offensive threat for the Barbs, hitting .408 with nine doubles, two triples, 17 RBIs and 25 runs scored. He was lights out on the mound during DeKalb's playoff run, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in nine innings.

Honorable mention

Trevor Guerra, sr., SS/P, Indian Creek; Braden Watson, sr., CF/SS/P, Hiawatha; Josh Norman, sr., 1B, Kaneland