Hebron’s Trever Roy seems to have the clutch gene.
With the game on the line, there’s no one coach Wayne Straka would rather have than the junior shortstop/pitcher.
“He’s really come on this last month,” Straka said. “He’s our best hitter. I told people when we were doing our all-conference, if I had two outs in the bottom of the seventh, if I could choose anyone to be up to the plate, Trever’s my guy.
“He’s been awesome on the mound. He’s been awesome hitting. He’s just a bad boy. He’s a bad man. He can do it all.”
Roy hopes to have an opportunity to deliver again when the Hawks (16-9) play defending state champion Illiana Christian (21-9) in the Class 2A Griffith Regional on Saturday.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Roy, who bats first or second in the order, is hitting a team-high .471, and his two homers, 26 RBIs and 11 stolen bases each rank second on the team. He is also 6-1 with a 1.32 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 23 walks in 47 ? innings on the mound.
Roy has started since his freshman season. But he has grown, both literally and figuratively.
He weighed 130 pounds when he debuted. He works at Anytime Fitness and said his passion for working out really has increased in the last year-plus.
Last season, Roy hit .348 with 10 RBIs and went 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA. As a freshman, he hit .364 with 15 RBIs and went 1-3 with a 12.43 ERA.
“I came in not knowing I would start and would bat leadoff,” Roy said. “I struck out my first two at-bats. But it’s been a fun three years.
“I’ve kept a similar approach at the plate from last year. But I just wanted to see some more pitches and also attack the good ones. I’ve been looking at fastballs a lot and been able to hit some curveballs.”
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On the mound, he has learned how to better attack hitters.
“Freshman year, I was the kid who would just go in with the bases loaded, throw strikes, and they would just double off me,” Roy said. “Now it’s definitely a lot more fun than just getting hit off.”
During his first two seasons, Roy played second base when he wasn’t pitching. He has shifted to shortstop, with senior Jackson Peeler playing second or third.
“I’ve been playing middle infield my whole life — high school usually at second, travel usually at short,” Roy said. “I’m OK with it either way. Jackson is a super good fielder.”
Peeler is also one of Hebron’s captains.
“He’s been really amazing this year,” Peeler said of Roy. “Hitting-wise, he’s hit the ball so hard, so well. He’s just a great person to have on the team. He brings a lot of energy from the dugout. He’s always giving it his all.
“He’s one of my best friends, too, so it’s amazing to have him on the team.”
Roy also plays volleyball and basketball.
“Baseball is way up here compared to other sports,” Roy said, lifting his right hand to eye level. “I love baseball. If I could play all year round, I would. I wouldn’t play any other sport. But we live in Indiana.”
In basketball, Roy broke out as the Hawks’ point guard this past season after two years primarily at the junior varsity level. He averaged 9.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists.
Roy had missed most of his sophomore season with a broken left foot. He suffered the injury during a game in early January 2022 when an opponent tried to take a charge and landed on him. Roy was out for two months but returned in time for the baseball season.
That season turned out to be a special one for Roy, whose brother Tucker joined the team.
“He didn’t play in high school, but thankfully some people convinced him to play senior year,” Trever Roy said. “I had so much fun with him playing.
“I couldn’t drive, so he would always take us to the games, and we had pregame songs we listened to. I just really enjoyed everything about it.”
Their sister Tanner played basketball and softball for Hebron before graduating in 2020.
Their youngest brother is 7-year-old Tate. They typically call him “Tater,” which starts with “T” and ends with “er” like the other siblings’ names.
Trever Roy said he considers his teammates to be “brothers” too.
“We’re all together,” he said. “We’re really good friends. We come from a small town, and we’ve been playing together for a long time. We hang out after games, during weekends. Having the team camaraderie, that’s one of the biggest things.”
The Hawks have embraced an underdog mentality under Straka, a former assistant who didn’t take over this season until two weeks before their first game. They won their first sectional title since 2017, and fifth overall, by beating Porter County Conference rival South Central and Wheeler.
“We definitely weren’t favored,” Straka said. “We knew going in that everyone thought South Central was going to win it.”
Hebron realizes it faces an uphill climb against Illiana Christian to win its first regional championship since 2017.
“I’ve never been playing high school ball this late in the year,” Roy said. “It’s a lot of fun. Winning the sectional, the feeling was so surreal. Everyone crowding up with each other and all hugging each other at the end, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
“I just really hope we can keep playing. It’s all team-oriented, and we’re really together. I really enjoy it. I love this team.”