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| | School: | Streator Twp High School | | Sport: | baseball | | Coach: |
Nick Mcgurk | |
Height: |
6' 1" |
| Class: |
2012 | |
Weight: |
175 lbs. |
Potential Major: Business Administration, Management and Operations Related | | | |
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| | | High School: | Streator Twp High School | | High School Coach: | Nick Mcgurk |
| | | Club Team: | Illinois Sparks |
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Baseball Info & Statistics
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| | | Bench Press Max: |
175 lbs. | | Vertical Jump: |
25 inches | | Position(s): |
short stop, out field, pitcher | | Batting Stance: |
left |
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Pitching Stats
| | Throwing Arm: right |
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Additional Baseball Info
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Sophomore playing on the varsity. Lead team in the following categories; (batting average .412), (31 rbi), (42 hits), and a pitching ERA of 1.98.
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Baseball Honors
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Voted by teammates; Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Mr. Offense. Voted by NCIC coaches; Unanimous 1st Team All Conference NCIC Reagan Division. Named by "The Times Newspaper" "2008 Baseball Player of the Year"
SOPHOMORE SENSATION
06/17/2008, 1:08 am
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J.T. Pedelty, jtpedelty@mywebtimes.com, 815-431-4083
Drew Sabol earned a gloveful of titles during his sophomore season on the balldiamond: all-conference first-teamer, Prime Times Player, all-area selection and most valuable player of the NCIC Reagan champion Streator Bulldogs.
Now you can add 2008 Times Player of the Year to the left-hander's list of accomplishments.
Sabol -- Streator's sophomore first baseman, pitcher and three-hitter -- edged out Somonauk's Josh Rivera to claim the inaugural Times Baseball Player of the Year honor. The title comes after a season in which Sabol batted .412 with a .459 on-base percentage, drove home 31 runs and recorded a 4-2 record and 1.96 ERA in helping the Diamond Dogs to their third NCIC title in school history.
"It was kind of unexpected," Sabol said of his success in his first season of varsity ball. "I was just looking to get out there and do my best, try not to put a lot of pressure on myself. Everybody around me tried to make me feel comfortable and accepted me. That made it a lot easier playing up there."
Sabol's natural talent and savvy on the diamond made it easy for his teammates to accept the roster's lone underclassman.
"He stepped right in and fit in really well," said Todd "Bubs" Hoffman, Sabol's high school and, this year, summer coach with the Streator Zips. "I think it helped that the other kids accepted him right off the bat. It was like he had always been a part of that group.
"He played a good first base for us, his hitting was outstanding, and his pitching -- every game he took the mound he either won for us or kept us in a ballgame. He was such a consistent ballplayer for us. I really didn't see any weaknesses in any part of his game."
The southpaw was never better than during the Bulldogs' 9-1 run to the NCIC Reagan title. In the league-opening series against La Salle-Peru, Sabol scored one game-ending run in the 10th inning and earned a pitching victory. He added two more game-winning, walk-off hits in come-from-behind victories over Dixon and Sterling, and another game-winner -- a three-run homer -- early to complete the sweep of the Dukes. And when the Diamond Dogs clinched the title the hurler on the hill was Sabol, tossing two perfect innings to earn the save against archrival and second-place finisher Ottawa.
"Winning the conference and getting to the regional championship game was really exciting," he said. "It was great to be a part of it."
As for his favorite moment of the season, Sabol's mind drifts back to to the very first Reagan series against La Salle-Peru, which the Bulldogs swept with a pair of improbable, extra-inning comebacks.
"The L-P games, when they went all those extra innings, was fun to be a part of. It seemed like (those games) would never end, but we got it done. It's always nice to come out on top," Sabol said.
At the end of a 25-9 season, Sabol's teammates did more than accept the 10th-grader. They elected him the team's MVP.
"I was surprised when I found out," Sabol said of being chosen by his nine senior and seven junior teammates. "I was honored they thought enough of me to give me the award. But (this season) was a total team effort.
"We did a great job throughout the year getting people on and moving them over. We stuck together and did our best, and I was just happy to be a part of it."
"It's a great honor," Hoffman said of Sabol's teammates choosing him. "I wasn't quite sure how the vote would play out, but it says a lot about him and how the team meshed together. It goes back to a group of kids accepting a younger kid, taking him under their wing and treating him as just one of the guys. That says something about him and about them."
And with his junior and senior seasons still ahead of him, there may be plenty to say about Sabol before his days in the Crimson and the White are over.
"I'm trying to work out in the weight room a little more," Sabol said of his offseason plans aside from summer baseball. "(I just want to) get stronger and better for the years to come."
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