Benet senior Max Babich personifies the crazy up-and-down emotions a pitcher typically encounters.
During a game where every pitch has a potential consequence or meaning, Babich knows the beauty of his art is not just what he achieves with his arm.
Mentally, he tries to stay one step ahead.
“It’s always fun the mind games that go on with the other hitters,” Babich said.
In a game Tuesday that ended tied 3-3 after seven innings in Lisle, Babich confronted his doppelgänger in the form of Neuqua Valley senior Danny Smid.
Like Babich, Smid is a left-handed thrower who prefers mixing in an assortment of off-speed sliders and curveballs as a counter to his fastball.
A great deal about their individual showdown felt eerily similar. Each pitcher was making his third start of the year. Each was seeking his first victory.
Fittingly, their rivalry turned out to be a quintessential draw in every way imaginable.
Babich went five innings and struck out seven for Benet (1-3-1). Smid went four innings and stuck out six for Neuqua (2-2-1).
Babich is committed to play at Saint Louis. Smid is still seeking college opportunities.
The game within the game amplified the larger drama.
“It always brings the energy when you have two lefties going up against each other,” Smid said. “It’s something you don’t see every day.”
Perseverance, poise and toughness are their shared characteristics.
Both saw their early growth interrupted as sophomores, with the season canceled due to the pandemic.
It is almost incalculable to measure the impact of a lost year at such a crucial stage of development.
Now, every opportunity to pitch feels like a privilege.
“During that time, I was just finding any way I could to keep working,” Smid said. “I went and looked for hitters, live at-bats and even nonsituational game stuff just to stay sharp.”
Both pitchers made their varsity debuts last season.
Babich was hampered by complications with a shoulder injury that deprived him of a full season on the mound. He made greater contributions last spring at the plate and as a first baseman.
His final two strikeouts proved to be vital Tuesday against the Wildcats.
Interestingly, the two batters he took down — Mark Mennecke and Josh Wenz — are both left-handed hitters.
“It’s definitely nice to throw at lefties because I can pummel them with the fastball or the curveball and slider whenever I need it,” Babich said. “The slider was on, and then pairing that up, I felt as if I threw harder as the game went on.”
Conversely, senior outfielder Colin Laughlin drove in a run against Smid in the fourth inning by going to the opposite field.
Laughlin also is a left-handed hitter.
“It’s actually a little different when you face a left-handed pitcher,” Laughlin said. “I prefer to face a right-hander.
“Lefties always come inside a little bit. They tend to curve it a little bit. You can’t go against that or just roll over.”
Again like Babich, Smid relishes the confrontational demands and heightened pressure of being a pitcher.
“When I face left-handed hitters, I like to open with the slider, start on the left shoulder and bring it in,” Smid said. “Mostly, whether they bat right or left-handed, I just like to pound them away and get the ball inside.”
Seeing his effective mirror image brought home the challenges and satisfaction of the pitcher’s life.
“It was just emotions,” Babich said. “That’s what I love about baseball. You just battle, no matter the situation. You just always try to be the better player.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.