Division 4 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Hackett Catholic Prep
May 25, 2021
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Division 4 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Hackett Catholic Prep
KALAMAZOO - “We’re short in numbers and long in talent,” said Hackett Catholic Prep head coach Smiley Verduzco.
The 77-year-old is in his first year in charge of the Irish, the Prep Baseball Report Division 4 Team of the Week.
A baseball coach for 57 years, Verduzco moved from California to Michigan 15 years ago and his family followed. The veteran mentor is being helped by a strong group of assistants including his son Steve, who is enjoying his time in the Hackett Catholic Prep program.
“It’s been an interesting year,” the younger Verduzco said. “We only have 11 varsity players and have had kids with contact tracing, so we’ve had games with three JVs in the outfield.”
After a four-game losing streak in late April, Hackett is playing well with wins last week over Schoolcraft 6-1 and 16-3 and Delton-Kellogg 6-3 and 22-0 to improve to 20-8 on the year.
“Everyone is back now and we’re getting on a roll,” Steve said. “We’ve got it going.”
Ace pitcher Sam Shea threw a no-hitter at Schoolcraft to improve his record to 5-2 with a 2.00 ERA, striking out 46 in 42 innings on the mound.
“Our pitching has come together and we’re throwing more strikes,” Steve Verduzco said about what has helped the team improve.
Brenden Collins is the number two pitcher with two wins and a save in 21 innings on the hill. Alex Blasen is tied for the team lead with five wins and stands at 5-2 as the third hurler for Hackett with Stephen Kwapis gaining experience as the number four.
Kwapis, the top-rated senior third baseman in Michigan who is committed to Notre Dame, is the offensive leader of the team batting in the three-hole with nine home runs, 46 RBIs and 46 runs scored while batting .521.
“He’s a great leader and a great kid,” Verduzco related. “We’ve got a lot of guys that haven’t played varsity and he has the willingness to help bring them along. And he can hit. He’s just a gamer.”
Collins has the highest batting average on the squad at .586 while driving in 44 runs hitting behind Kwapis.
Isaac Backman, who plays right field or center, leads off and brings speed to the lineup with 18 stolen bases to go along with a .350 average. Sophomore Nick Verduzco, Steve’s son, is batting .440 in the two-hole while playing shortstop.
“Brenden and Nick have been better than we expected,” Verduzco said. “They put a ton of time in during the offseason and it shows. We knew Kwapis would hit and that Shea could pitch, but those two have really stepped it up and been a big boost for us.”
Steven Widger, a senior who plays outfield and catcher, adds another strong stick with a .462 average batting fifth.
“I knew we’d be competitive,” Verduzco said. “We just need to continue throwing strikes and our offense needs to continue to be explosive. We’ve really been hitting the ball in the gaps which makes it tough on defenses.”
Doubleheaders with Paw Paw and state-ranked Watervliet are on tap this week as Hackett Catholic gears up for the postseason opener on June 5 with Kalamazoo Christian.
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