If his first at-bat of the season Monday is any indication, sophomore third baseman Jason Phillips appears more than ready to go to battle for Plano. Especially with two strikes on him.
After fouling off pitches against host Aurora Central Catholic, Phillips came through in impressive fashion, launching a home run to straightaway center field — just like he had planned.
“He was pounding me away, gave me a couple curveballs, so I was trying to have a good approach,” Phillips said. “Not to pull off and stay up the middle. It was high and away, and I got it.
“I’m just trying to play my best for my team. It’s their last year as seniors, so I just want to have a great season.”
Phillips and Co. took the first step as the Reapers held on for a wild 9-8 nonconference victory.
And that home run was only the beginning for Phillips, who kept it going all day long. He singled and scored in the third inning and followed that up by singling and stealing a base in the fifth.
Then, the hulking 6-foot-1, 257-pound Phillips cracked a two-run double to the opposite field in the sixth that wound up providing the distance the Reapers (1-0) needed to outlast the Chargers.
“He is special,” Plano coach Nate Hill said. “He was honorable mention in the Interstate Eight last year, which is a pretty big deal for that conference. He works hard. He’s on the travel ball circuit.
“He plays a lot of baseball. He’s really coming into his own as a leader this year.”
Carson Bailey hit a three-run homer in the fifth to spark the rally for Aurora Central Catholic (0-1), but the Chargers came up just short as darkness set in.
Phillips also came on in relief and earned a hold, despite giving up three unearned runs due to some errors in the field. Still, Phillips put all of his talent on display for day one.
Aside from the numbers, Phillips’ presence on the field also stands out. Despite only being a sophomore, he’s one of the most vocal players for the Reapers — something he takes pride in.
“I just try to talk,” Phillips said. “That’s the best part of the game. Talking is what keeps everybody in the game. I try to make sure that everybody knows where the ball is going.
“I just try to make sure everybody stays locked in the whole game.”
Bailey’s homer in the fifth prompted Hill to turn to Phillips unexpectedly to get out of the jam.
“We expect him to be our leader,” ACC coach Rich Swann said of Bailey. “Do those types of things for us.”
Phillips wasn’t scheduled to pitch Monday but managed to keep the Reapers in position to win.
“He just kind of needed to fill in,” Hill said of Phillips. “We struggled a little bit with our first reliever. (Phillips) will start once a week. He just jumped in where he needed to be.”
Phillips said pitching was a big part of his offseason focus after some struggles as a freshman. He comes at hitters from a three-quarters delivery and already touches upper-80 mph on the gun.
“I always threw kind of hard, but I adapted to the three-quarters,” Phillips said. “My ball has a little bit of tail on it, so I just try to stay there. It just feels comfortable to me.”
Phillips also is on the recruiting radar, with Prep Baseball Report placing him at No. 55 in Illinois for the 2026 class. He doesn’t let that get to him, however.
“I think it’s pretty cool, but I let it go right over my head, to be honest,” Phillips said. “I don’t really care too much about the rankings. I’m just trying to play the best baseball that I can.
“Baseball is important to me.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
