The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Prep’s mound quarterback keeps Jesuits on the move
FAIRFIELD — The past is the past. One of the greatest pitching performances in the history of the Little League World Series is nothing more than a distant memory to the author himself, Will Lucas.
“I don’t really focus on it. It’s kind of in the past,” Lucas said of the no-hitter he threw as a 12year-old for Fairfield American Little League in 2012. “It was a cool experience. I’m just trying to focus on getting better and getting ready for college, ultimately helping this team win a state championship.”
Yes, it was only six years ago that Lucas struck out 13 and did not allow a single hit in a 4-0 victory over New Castle, Ind. But aside from keeping a few mementos — he’s saved the cleats he wore that night, along with the ball from the final out — Lucas has tried to move on with his baseball career.
“That’s definitely in the past for him,” Lucas’ teammate at Fairfield Prep, Adam Stone, said. “He’s moved on. Even though some teams like to chirp him about it, he keeps his head up and just proves them wrong game in and game out.”
Lucas has proved his worth by helping to carry Prep to a 15-1 start and the No. 1 ranking in the GameTimeCT poll in this, his senior season. He’s thrown 15 innings this spring without allowing an earned run, and is
hitting .524 with one home run and 12 RBIs. His onbase percentage is an incredible .649.
“For a guy of his caliber, yeah, this is what I think you expect a Division-I player to look like — a bona fide D-I recruit,” Prep coach Rudy Mauritz said of his UConn-bound star. “To have well over 20 hits already and to perform the way he’s performed, that’s the kind of guy that they’re after.”
With increased expectations comes increased pressure. Fortunately for the Jesuits, Lucas has never been the type to shy away from the spotlight. Lucas relishes the big stage, as his performance before a national television audience and a crowd of 7,400 at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pa., would indicate.
“He thrives in that moment,” Mauritz said. “He likes coming in and knowing that it’s his turn to get on the bump and maybe shut things down, close things out. Whether it’s keeping us in it when we’re tied or coming in for that save, he feels confident in those spots that he’s going to get people out.”
With command of three pitches — an upper 80s fastball, spike curveball and changeup — and a thick backbone, Lucas has been lights out in relief for the Jesuits. The right-hander holds a 5-0 record and has struck out 20 and walked only three this season. “When the other team’s barking at him, he definitely does better,” Stone said.
The edge Lucas plays with carries over from football. He did, after all, play nine games at quarterback for the Jesuits last fall. Lucas passed for 608 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for 471 yards, including a career-high 113 in a loss to Shelton.
“Yeah, I think I’m a pretty intense dude,” Lucas said. “I might have gotten some of that from football. I just like to win. I think I’m a competitive guy. I think when I pitch, the competitiveness really comes out.”
Many baseball coaches would cringe at the sight of their star player throwing his body around with reckless abandon. Mauritz, however, did just the opposite. He encouraged Lucas — who plays shortstop on the days he doesn’t pitch — to throw on some pads and a helmet and toss around the pigskin on Friday nights.
“I was all for it,” Mauritz said. “I was glad to see it. I think it’s made him tougher. It’s made him a tougher competitor. That’s who he is.”
With Lucas, all 180 pounds of him, under center, Prep’s football team was eliminated in the Class LL playoffs by top-seeded Greenwich, 27-6, last November. Considering how things have transpired this spring, the school’s baseball team is hoping to go a few steps further.
Despite all its regular season success, Prep has never won an SCC or state championship in baseball. One has to go all the way back to 1985 to find the last time the program competed in a state final (a 5-4 loss to Notre Dame-West Haven in the Class LL final).
“The beginning of this year, a lot of people were underestimating us because we lost a lot of seniors last year,” said Stone, a junior first baseman/pitcher. “I feel like this group’s kind of gelled around that underdog theme even though we’re (15-1). I think we’ve really got a good team and good chemistry. We could make a really good run this season.”
Through Thursday, the Jesuits’ only loss was a 5-4 setback to Trumbull on April 12. Included in their impressive start are a pair of victories over three-time defending SCC champion Amity (6-5 in eight innings and 1-0).
“We’ve just done what we’ve had to do to win games,” said Lucas, who has 22 hits on the season to go along with 13 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. “There’s been games where the top of the lineup doesn’t hit and the bottom of the order picks us up. There’s games where we don’t hit well, but our pitcher picks us up on the mound. When we put it all together, we are very dangerous.
“I think come state playoff time, we’ve got to put it together almost every game. It’s a very tough tournament to win, as you know.”
As history would show, Prep knows that better than anyone.