Burlington Central’s Elliott Alicea saw the early portion of his senior season derailed by an ankle injury, but he has been easing his way back into the lineup.
That has meant spending time at designated hitter, not his customary spot in the outfield.
“It was hard at the beginning, but I’m getting used to it now,” said Alicea, who also pitches. “It’s pretty good now. I’m trying to get back into the outfield next week, but I’m feeling pretty good.”
It was hard to tell that Alicea was easing his way into anything Wednesday. He provided the winning two-run single in a wild 10-6, nine-inning Fox Valley Conference victory at Jacobs.
It was one of two hits on the day for Alicea, a Triton recruit. Solomon Her also went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer for the Rockets (13-5, 8-2). Brady Gilroy went 4-for-6 and earned the win in relief.
Andrew Deegan and Paulie Rudolph each had two hits for Jacobs (14-5, 6-4).
Burlington Central coach Kyle Nelson has been looking forward to getting Alicea back to full strength to bolster an already strong lineup.
“I think the more at-bats he sees, the more damage he’s going to do,” Nelson said. “We’ve needed a little more length in our lineup, and I think he can add that as he sees more at-bats.”
Alicea was batting sixth Wednesday when he came through with his heroics.
The Rockets battled back from a 5-0 deficit to force extra innings. AJ Payton reached on an error to lead off the top of the ninth. Jake Johnson singled, then Chase Powrozek delivered a sacrifice.
That sent the runners to second and third for Alicea.
“Honestly, that was something we worked on in practice the other day — runner on third less than two outs,” Nelson said. “His job was to hit the ball hard on the ground and he did. It was perfect.”
Alicea admitted visualizing that drill helped guide him through the pressure situation.
“Going into the game and seeing the drill in the game was pretty cool,” Alicea said. “It calms you down a little bit, so that was pretty cool. I saw the ball go through and it was a relief.
“I made a big play. We had a stunning performance out there. It felt pretty good.”
Jacobs touched up ace Michael Person for five runs in the first two innings, but the four-year varsity star shut down the Golden Eagles from there, giving the Rockets a chance to come back.
The Rockets scored five runs in the top of the fourth to tie it up. Her’s opposite-field, three-run homer started the rally.
Jacobs starter Braden Behrens had been cruising through three innings, striking out seven.
“He was doing a great job,” Jacobs coach Jamie Murray said of Behrens. “It’s all about keeping them off balance and disrupting their timing.
“Credit to them. They did a good job of staying back on the off-speed stuff and barreled some balls up to right field.”
Alicea, who flew out right before Her’s homer, was one of the first to greet him when Her got back to the dugout.
“That was a big pickup for us,” Alicea said. “That got our energy way up.”
A healthy Alicea also will be a big boost for the Rockets, and he knows the impact he can have.
“I feel like me coming back, we have a good chance of going all the way,” he said. “Sectionals all the way to state.”
Moments like Wednesday’s will help build his comeback.
“Being able to come into the game and make a big play like that, it felt pretty good,” Alicea said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
