Having players like Brandon Maze is what keeps guys like Greg Wilker coaching baseball for as long as they do.

Wilker, in his 26th season as Lake High School's head coach, knows players like Maze don't come along very often. Prior to this season Maze, a 6-3, 160-pound senior, made his mark as a second-team All-Suburban Lakes League pitcher (3-3, 1.89 ERA in 2009) and right fielder.

Wilker, however, needed another catcher after the graduation of Taylor Barteck, so he asked Maze if he could pitch – he is the Flyers' No. 2 starter behind senior Ryan Hotmer – and split duties behind the plate with sophomore Jake Bandeen.

“It was fine with me,” Maze said. “I was happy to do it and make the team better. I just do what the team needs to be done. When I came to high school I was always the backup catcher, but I only got in about three games a year. It was fun. Lately I've been doing better at blocking balls. I like having pitchers have confidence in me to block an 0-2 curveball in the dirt.”

Wilker said Maze has done an “outstanding job” behind the plate and on the mound.

“Last year he played outfield and pitched, and this year he's been my No. 2 pitcher and my catcher,” Wilker said. “It's not a combination I would like to have all the time, because it's tough for a kid to pitch and catch all the time. Brandon is just an outstanding competitor. I can play him in the infield and outfield. He's just that kind of kid and just that versatile.

“He's sort of a free spirit. He goes out and competes. He likes to play the game and he just battles out there. He's having a good year.”

Despite a rough outing in Monday's 12-10, eight-inning SLL loss to visiting Elmwood, Maze is having an outstanding season on the mound. He is 5-1 with a 1.16 ERA in 42 innings, with 30 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Maze allowed five runs, all earned, in the first inning against the Royals, who are unbeaten in league play. Lake dropped to 18-6 and 6-4 in the SLL.

“The wind was blowing out at our place, which made it a good day to hit,” Wilker said. “Brandon usually throws strikes, but he couldn't find the curveball (against Elmwood) so I knew it was going to be a struggle. He only pitched four innings and he threw a ton of pitches in that first inning.”

Maze, who throws a two- and four-seam fastball and curveball, said he had trouble finding the strike zone on Monday.

“I threw like one (curve) for a strike,” he said. “It was bad. I couldn't throw a curveball to save my life. I was throwing them in the dirt and Jake blocked them all. He's definitely improved a lot.”

Maze, 17, has never pretended to be a big strikeout pitcher. His M.O. is to locate his pitches and let the defense do the work behind him.

“I just put it in the zone and let people make plays,” Maze said. “Our defense has stepped up a lot. I really started pitching last year and I don't strike out that many people. I'm very surprised (with this season) because I've never really pitched before. I pitched a few times my sophomore year, but it was against teams that weren't really that good.”

While Hotmer (6-2, 1.54 ERA) is Lake's No. 1 starter and top hitter – he's batting .472 with six home runs and 32 RBI – Maze is holding his own at the plate. Maze is batting .321 and hit a grand slam – his first homer of the season - in the bottom of the first inning against Elmwood to tie the game at 5-5.

“We were a little flat at the start of that game,” Wilker said, “and Brandon helped pick us up. He's just a good team leader.”

Maze said his grand slam “definitely felt good.”

“After giving up five runs in the top of the first, it definitely felt good to get those runs back,” he said. “I've never really been that great of a hitter. I'm a bottom-of-the-lineup guy.”

Maze will have a say in how far the Flyers advance in the postseason tournament. Lake, which reached the district finals last season, faced Genoa in Thursday's Division III sectional at Elmwood.

“This team never gives up,” Maze said. “(Monday) we were down five runs in the first inning and we never gave up. We kept battling. It's a fun group of guys and we want to win, and we'd like to go farther than we did last year.”

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed