Kaleb Wilkey was unable to play catcher last season for Lincoln-Way West as an arm injury limited him to designated hitter duties.
But now as a senior, Wilkey is back in his comfort zone behind the plate. Well, maybe it’s not so comfortable. But it’s where he wants to be.
“I love it,” Wilkey said. “Catching has always been my first passion. I’ve always loved to do it so much. Taking it off last year, my body didn’t get the conditioning to be ready for this year.
“My body’s been dead recently, but I recover as fast as I can and as much as I can so I can get back out there and do what I love.”
Wilkey showed no signs of fatigue Thursday.
In addition to a couple key defensive plays, he had three hits and scored the winning run on Dominic Saso’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the host Warriors clinched the SouthWest Suburban Red title outright with a 4-3 win over Lincoln-Way Central.
Triton recruit Reagan King struck out eight and allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings for Lincoln-Way West (22-6, 9-2), which earned its sixth win in a row. Kansas State recruit Conor Essenburg went 2-for-5 with an RBI double.
Luke Mensik threw seven strong innings for Lincoln-Way Central (19-10, 6-6), allowing just one run on seven hits and striking out eight. Xavier recruit Landon Mensik, Luke’s brother, went 2-for-5 with a double and a run. Jack Barrett had two RBIs.
Saso delivered the heroics after Wilkey, also a Triton recruit, started the ninth-inning surge with a two-out single. Louisville commit Cole Crafton was intentionally walked to set the stage for Saso, who ripped a line drive to left to end it.
“It felt amazing,” Saso said. “It was 0-2 and I was expecting a curveball, but he threw me a fastball and I was able to just hit it over the left fielder’s head.
“It means everything. I’m not playing college baseball, so this is it. I had to leave it all on the field.”
Saso delivered after he was robbed of a likely three-run, extra-base hit in the fifth inning on a spectacular diving catch from Lincoln-Way Central center fielder Jack Novak.
Wilkey, meanwhile, is hitting .383 and making a big difference defensively, like when he threw out a runner trying to steal second with no outs in the seventh inning.
“He’s been Mr. Consistent,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jake Zajc said of Wilkey. “He has the knack in pressure situations. He threw that guy out in a big spot and he’s done that all year. It’s not easy catching so many games in a season. He’s gotten a little beaten up, but he stays focused and plays tough.
“He’s our leader. He’s our heartbeat. He’s the guy who gets it done for us.”
Wilkey missed being behind the plate.
“I thought I was going to be back at some point during the season last year, but it ended up not getting any better, so I wasn’t able to catch through the whole summer season, either,” he said. “My buddy Harry (Harrison Scroggins) was supposed to play center field and he was catching instead last season.
“I was watching him all the time, and any time I saw something I thought he could do better, I let him know. So, that made me feel like I was still catching, to a certain extent.”
King is sure glad to have Wilkey catching him again.
“I’m pretty confident with him back there,” King said. “No matter what I throw, I know he’s going to frame it good. He’s going to block it when he has to. I know he’ll do everything.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.