When Arizona State pitcher Brett Lilek earned the first PAC-12 Pitcher of the Week accolade in his career, he could have done so by going against an inferior opponent in a nondescript midweek game.
But that’s not how the Marian Catholic graduate took care of business. Instead, the junior left-hander went up against the then-No. 2 team in the country and turned in a brilliant effort.
In the Sun Devils’ 2-1 victory over visiting UCLA on May 10, Lilek pitched a complete game, allowing three hits and no earned runs. The South Holland resident struck out seven and walked one while also hitting a batter. Of his 108 pitches, 68 were strikes.
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Lilek retired the first 14 Bruins of the game before his no-hit bid was broken up with a two-out single in the fifth inning. He allowed just one runner to advance to second base before UCLA scored an unearned run in the eighth.
“At that point, UCLA was at the top of the PAC(-12) and we were fighting for the top spot as well,” Lilek said. “I wanted to give our team the opportunity to win the game. I went out there and battled and our defense played well behind me.
“I established my fastball early and when I do that, it’s easier to pitch ahead and keep the hitters off balance.
“There were a lot of ground balls and when you have that defense behind you, your confidence will shoot up. This is the best defense I’ve had playing behind me.”
The Pitcher of the Week plaudit was not the only hardware earned by Lilek this season. He was one of four ASU players afforded All-PAC-12 honorable mention status as a total of 10 Sun Devils were honored.
Lilek was a First-Team All-PAC-12 selection in 2014.
“Any time that you’re recognized for something, that’s great,” Lilek said. “I just wanted to give my team the best chance to win.
“This means that I’ve finally done something right. That’s what I take away from it. To be honest, I look at accolades along these lines that I just want to win games and do what’s best for my team.
“This is just a plus and I appreciate the coaches recognizing me for that.”
Heading into this weekend’s NCAA Fullerton Regional where ASU was slated to open against Clemson, Lilek was 4-2 with a 3.29 ERA, fourth-best on the team.
In his 16 appearances this season (15 starts), Lilek worked 76 2/3 innings, allowing 58 hits. He struck out 64, walked 39 and held the opposition to a .218 batting average.
As far as the radar gun is concerned, Lilek said that he has been at 90-93 mph this season on a consistent basis with his fastball, while touching 94-95 mph on occasion.
“My strength is that I’m aggressive,” Lilek said. “I attack the (strike) zone, I establish (my fastball) early and I get my off-speed (pitches) across. College has helped me develop more as a pitcher and less as a thrower.
“My fastball is my most consistent pitch location-wise, but when I want to finish off a hitter, I’ll go with my slider.”
While most of his time is consumed with baseball, Lilek also has proven successful in the academic arena. The communications major was one of 19 Sun Devils chosen for the Spring 2015 semester as a Scholar Baller, which honors baseball players with grade-point averages of 3.0 or better.
“When you come to school as a student-athlete, you have to take care of what goes on in the classroom, so you can be on the field,” Lilek said. “If you’re not doing well in class, you won’t be able to perform.
“The guys on the team and I take pride in that. ASU is a great school. Everyone’s baseball career ends someday, so you have to have a backup plan.”
Stick with Schick
Lake Forest College’s Jim Schick was chosen to the 2014-15 All-Midwest Conference Second Team in men’s basketball.
Schick, an Oak Lawn resident, led the Midwest Conference in rebounding with an average of 9.4 per game, which placed him 40th in the country in NCAA Division III. The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward also was ninth in the conference in scoring (14.7 points per game), 12th in free-throw percentage (.756) and 15th in field-goal percentage (.512). Schick also tied for third on Lake Forest’s roster in assists with 40.
The St. Laurence graduate scored in double figures in 19 of the Foresters’ 22 games this season as Lake Forest finished 10-12 overall and 9-9 in the Midwest Conference, good enough for fifth place.
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Walsh is a freelance reporter.