From firing up 3-pointers to firing fastballs, it’s been a big month for Providence senior Jack Wajda.
On March 12, Wajda won the state’s Class 3A 3-point contest to finish off his basketball career
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.He then turned his attention to his main sport of baseball, where he has been dominating hitters on the mound for the Celtics.
“Winning the 3-point contest was a good way to end basketball on a high note for my career,” Wajda said. “Baseball season was coming up so I didn’t have a lot of time to keep working on my basketball shot, but I’d find time after baseball practice to get into the gym and take some shots.”
Wajda, a Chipola College recruit for baseball, has enjoyed being a two-sport athlete.
“Just being able to compete and wear ‘Providence’ across my chest,” he said. “In basketball and baseball, it’s always fun to compete in the Catholic League, the best conference in the state. Day in and day out, it’s a grind and you have to be ready for it.”
Wajda (2-0) has struck out 18 hitters in just 10 1/3 innings. He has a 1.36 ERA.
On a pitching staff with Division I recruits Ryan Hussey (Notre Dame), Alex Alberico (Kent State) and Drew Zemaitis (Xavier), Wajda has established himself as a top option for Providence coach Mark Smith.
“He’s been kind of a pleasant surprise with how good he’s become,” Smith said. “We knew we had a solid pitcher as a freshman, but he’s really developed into a top of the rotation guy and someone we have a lot of confidence in and fully trust.
“He’s a bulldog type of competitor. He wants the challenges. He wants the ball in the biggest games.”
Wajda is going to Chipola, a national power in junior college baseball, with hopes of the next step being a major conference Division I program.
Pitching at the next level is not something he saw coming a few years ago.
“I think it’s a little bit of a shock to my coaches and myself,” Wajda said. “Freshman year, I was only throwing 75 or 76 (mph).
“Over the years, with my body maturing and me working in the weight room and throwing more, I started throwing 90 and sitting in the upper 80s.”
Wajda said the newfound power combined with his feel for the art of pitching have made for a successful combination.
“I always knew how to pitch, but I didn’t know if I had the stuff to compete at this high of a level,” he said. “Now, I have the confidence that I can go up against the best. I have the stuff to go along with my knowledge of how to pitch.”
Still perfect: St. Laurence (13-0) is undefeated against Illinois competition, winning all nine games against in-state opponents by at least nine runs.
Aside from a 10-3 victory over Simeon in the season opener, the Vikings have held all Illinois opponents to one run or less.
DJ Helwig, Kannen Mosher and Joe Olson all had dominant starts last week. Angelo Luna had a huge week at the plate, going 6-for-10 with eight runs, a home run and 12 RBIs in four wins.
The Vikings are coming off a Class 3A third-place finish in 2021.
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“We have a lot of guys who have that big-game experience now and that’s invaluable,” St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus said. “Our guys know what it’s like to compete in those games and they’re hungry to get back.”
Heating up: After a 1-3 start, Mount Carmel (10-3) has won nine in a row, including seven games over an eight-day span between April 3 and Sunday.
In a big 4-2 win Wednesday over Marist, Julien Hachem (Oklahoma) allowed just two unearned runs in five innings and Michael Kelly (Western Michigan) threw two perfect innings for the save.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.