Sophomore left-hander Owen Niedzwiecki has figured out that he’s not going to overpower teams with his fastball for Aurora Christian.
That forces him to work backward to hitters, relying on off-speed pitches to set up his fastball instead of vice versa.
“I just try to attack,” Niedzwiecki said. “I mostly think off-speed is my approach because I know my off-speed is good. I trust my off-speed. My catcher, Kaleb Elwood, trusts my off-speed.
“I actually trust my off-speed more than my fastball.”
Coach Andy Zorger doesn’t call pitches from the dugout, trusting Elwood to call the game. Elwood has developed chemistry with Niedzwiecki the past two seasons, helping them put together a plan.
“I think it starts with chemistry for sure,” Elwood said. “He doesn’t blow you away with the fastball. You have to have chemistry with a guy like that. His slider, curveball and change-up are wicked.
“He’s one of those guys where I start off off-speed.”
Even if Niedzwiecki falls behind in the count 3-0, Elwood doesn’t hesitate to call on the off-speed.
Conversely, if he’s up 0-2 in the count, Elwood will call the fastball, which plays up in the zone from the upper 70s and becomes more effective after the hitter sees a diet of off-speed pitches.
“With the chemistry we’ve built, he trusts me now,” Elwood said. “The fastball catches up on guys. You get to 0-2 after four off-speed pitches and they think, ‘Oh, he’s going to throw a curveball.’
“He’s been doing it the whole game. Then you whip a fastball high at him and I can frame it. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever caught.”
The strategy has been working, with Niedzwiecki turning into the No. 2 starter by the end of his freshman season for the Eagles.
Despite a hiccup in Wednesday’s five-inning, 15-0 loss at Wheaton Academy, Niedzwiecki is 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA for Aurora Christian (8-9). In 19 innings, he has struck out 33 and walked 14.
“It’s more just the mindset, the focus,” Zorger said. “Yeah, he’s having fun, but he’s no nonsense. He’s here to play. You can see it just in the way he carries himself.”
When he’s not on the mound, Niedzwiecki also bats leadoff and mans center field for the Eagles. He’s hitting .333 this spring, scoring 17 runs in 17 games.
“He’s a great athlete, good speed, just a gamer,” Zorger said. “He’s going to do whatever you ask him to do and he’s going to have a good attitude about it. He’s going to be a leader.
“That’s why he’s playing center and he’s one of our top pitchers and leading off. That’s the kind of kid you want to build a team around.”
Zorger wanted to challenge Niedzwiecki, allowing him to face Wheaton Academy (14-1).
A two-out error in the third inning Wednesday opened the floodgates, but if he got out of that, he would have only been trailing 2-0 going into the fourth.
While the day didn’t go as planned, Niedzwiecki facing an explosive lineup like that is part of the young pitcher’s development.
“Games like that humble you,” he said. “Baseball is a tough sport. One of my travel coaches says it’s 90% mental and 10% physical.
“It’s good that (Zorger) trusts me. That kind of gives me a boost in my confidence.”
Zorger has shown confidence in Niedzwiecki ever since he started high school at Aurora Christian. Games like Wednesday’s outing won’t cause Zorger to waver in that confidence, either.
“You have to trust your stuff, trust your defense, go out and throw strikes,” Zorger said. “It’s just one game. Forget about it. They’re a good team.
“I don’t have any doubt that he’ll be ready to go the next time out.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
