As a freshman, Patrick Collins got pulled aside by Kaneland assistant coach Brian Claesson.
“He told me I had the potential to catch on the varsity team some day,” Collins said. “That put a real spark under me. Since then, I kept putting in work.”
After waiting last season behind Sebastian Cabeza, Collins made his varsity debut behind the plate Monday for the Knights in a 5-3 victory over Harvest Christian at Judson’s Hoffer Field in Elgin.
The junior catcher paid immediate dividends. He threw out a runner trying to steal to end Harvest’s rally in the bottom of the sixth inning. He then ripped a two-run double in the top of the seventh to give the Knights (1-0) the win.
“He had a good first game,” Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said of Collins. “We’re going to keep working with him. He’s a hardworking kid. He knows what he needs to do to get better and he’s going to keep working at it.”
Collins struck out twice and walked in his first three plate appearances, but he was determined to come through in the seventh.
After Dylan Conklin created a 3-3 tie with an RBI single, Collins drove in Conklin and Parker Violett with a rope into the left field corner.
“We were looking for a good moment to put some balls in play,” Collins said. “(The pitcher) had a ball that ran in on me, so I just tried to keep my hands in and keep it between the lines.
“Luckily, I was able to get around the ball straight down the third base line. It felt good. I needed that.”
Collins learned from a great one in Cabeza, who was Kaneland’s leader last season.
“I talked with Sebastian a lot about things he did,” Collins said. “Just working on a lot of small stuff — framing, blocking.
“Over the offseason, I worked on my arm. I developed a bit of a strong spot for getting balls down to second, and I learned that from Sebastian.”
Aversa knew there would be a leadership void that needed to be filled this season with the graduation of Cabeza and Tyler Conklin, who’s now pitching at Eastern Illinois.
“We put a lot of pressure on him this offseason,” Aversa said of Collins. “Somebody has to step up. He wanted it to be him, and he’s got to take the bull by the horns and try to earn that spot.”
A big part of Collins’ development came on the mental side, both behind the plate and at the plate.
“It was just staying on top of my mental game, staying focused and keeping track of the little things,” Collins said. “He also had me focus on my approach in the box, hitting balls as hard as I can when I have the chance.”
Kaneland led 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth. Logan Kottmeyer pitched four scoreless innings to get things started.
“He did the job, kept everything off the board,” Aversa said. “Logan is a consistent guy for us and he’s going to have to be a guy we have to ride.”
Harvest (1-1) turned the tables, however, in the bottom of the sixth.
Sophomore shortstop Gavin Duran blasted a two-run triple to straightaway center and scored on a wild pitch to suddenly give the Lions a 3-2 lead.
“We just couldn’t get a clutch hit up to that point,” Harvest coach Matt Ellett said. “That was a great shot. He drove it. I was waiting for that all night.
“I thought we were in pretty good shape going into the seventh.”
That all changed when Collins stepped up to the plate.
“We were impressed with his first game out,” Aversa said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.