Hinsdale Central senior Chris Botsoe’s performance in Thursday’s West Suburban Conference crossover baseball game against Leyden showed precisely why he’ll be playing big-time college baseball for Louisville.
The center fielder displayed speed with a pair of stolen bases, ability to hit for average by going 3-for-4, including an opposite-field triple, and power with a solo home run.
While he wasn’t tested much in the field, he did plenty of damage on the scoreboard, scoring four runs while driving in five in the Red Devils’ 14-6 victory.
Even though he was only a double short of hitting for the cycle, he still wasn’t ready to sing his own praises.
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Botsoe said. “I went the other way in my first at-bat and the home run was pretty good, too, but the last at-bat when I grounded out, I should have stayed back more and tried to drive it up the middle or the go other way.”
While Botsoe has been a highly regarded player for all of his high school career, he’s lucky he can still lace up his cleats.
Last April, he was hit in the face by a pitch that broke his cheek bone just below his eye. His vision was impaired temporarily and he said the doctor told him that he could have been permanently blinded if the ball had struck a couple millimeters higher.
After Botsoe underwent surgery to repair his face, he was itching to get back in the cages. But his parents, Eugene and Karen, were initially split on how to handle his return.
“My mom was a little bit hesitant at first because she knows what could have happened,” Chris Botsoe said. “My dad wanted me to come out playing with no fear.”
Chris Botsoe, who now has a eye guard welded onto his helmet, got back in the cages a few weeks after the injury and played ball during the summer. But it wasn’t without some terrifying moments.
“My first game back I was frightened,” he said. “The first pitch I faced was at my head and that scared me a little bit. But after the first couple games, I was back to normal.”
“Our concern when kids get hit in the face is are they going to come back and be a little jumpy in the box, but he hasn’t been,” Hinsdale Central coach Jason Ziemer said. “He came in this season and he was ready to hit. He has no fear out there.”
Botsoe tries to look at the positives that came from the horrifying injury.
“It was a bad thing I got hit, but it also helped me focus on other aspects, the other tools I could work on without my eyes, like my speed, arm strength and fielding,” he said.
He’s batting around .350 this season and his on-base plus slugging is gaudy, about 1.200.
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“His single (Thursday) is kind of a rare thing,” Ziemer said. “He has a power stroke, he hits gaps and he’s not the biggest kid, but he’s a power hitter and he can run. That’s a great combination.”
“He provides a lot for us offensively, and defensively he’s always a threat to throw kids out,” teammate Mark Dykstra said. “Right now he’s hotter than he’s ever been.”
Notes
* Leyden and Hinsdale Central were tied at 2-2 after two innings. Hinsdale Central (5-8) led 8-6 after five and was able to take complete control with a pair of runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh.
* Brandon Spevak earned the win for the Red Devils. Other offensive standouts for Hinsdale Central were Kevin Schranz (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Mike Johnson and Trenton Barnett (2 RBI each).
* Tom Szopinski had a two-run single for Leyden (6-6), while Jorge Hernandez, Matt Patronski and Adrian Perez each knocked in a run. Jeremey Borgess added a RBI sacrifice fly.
Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.