C-G pitcher fierce at plate, on mound

Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com Cary-Grove senior pitcher Matt Nelsen finished the season 11-1 with a 2.90 ERA, with his only loss coming in the IHSA Class 4A Baseball State Tournament third-place game to O’Fallon. Nelsen hit .348, with four home runs and 38 RBIs. He is the Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year. (Travis Haughton ())

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After Cary-Grove senior Matt Nelsen shut down Batavia on a five-hitter, 10-1, to win the IHSA Class 4A Rockford RiverHawks Supersectional, he was asked at which position Lincoln Land Community College planned to use him next season.

It’s a good question, and one that Nelsen hasn’t been able to answer himself for the past year.

By their senior seasons, most high school players know precisely where their future lies in college. Even junior-college coaches normally will have players either play a position or pitch, but not both. Nelsen’s ability to hit and pitch conflicts with those theories.

It is why Lincoln Land coaches might wait until Nelsen – who also plays third base – goes through fall workouts at the Springfield school before making a decision on what they will do with him. His versatility also is why Nelsen is the Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year.

Nelsen was 11-1 with a 2.90 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 30 walks in 77 innings. His only loss during his final two varsity seasons came in the IHSA Class 4A Baseball State Tournament third-place game, 3-2, to O’Fallon.

At the plate, Nelsen hit .348 with four home runs and 38 RBIs, second on the team. The prevailing thought among area coaches, from whom the Northwest Herald sports staff sought input, was that Nelsen deserved the honor because he contributed in so many ways. He is the first C-G player to receive Player of the Year since its inception in 1987.

C-G catcher Luke Mottashed, C-G shortstop Chris Waylock and Huntley pitcher-center fielder Craig Lipp also received consideration for the honor.

“[Lincoln Land] is going to try me at both during the fall season, then make a decision by late winter or early spring whether they want me to do both or focus on one,” Nelsen said. “My body would probably feel better doing just one. Going from infield to pitching is more stress, so maybe I’d be a little stronger doing one over the other.”

Nelsen is fast and versatile, and not a power pitcher on the mound. But he possesses so many other traits that made him a 19-1 pitcher over the last two seasons that Trojans coach Don Sutherland believes Nelsen will succeed whatever way the Loggers use him.

“He has to prove himself on the mound because he’s not that power pitcher,” Sutherland said. “But he’s faced some awful good teams here. I think he’ll surprise people on the mound. He’s such a good hitter, they should have him try to do both for a while.”

Nelsen might have been at his best against Batavia with the trip to state on the line. He struck out four, walked two and lost his shutout in the seventh inning. Some of the Bulldogs batters flailed at his 60 mph off-speed pitches.

“He really works well on his control,” Mottashed said. “He spots his pitches in practice, and that got him to be such a good pitcher. His curveball may look like it’s hanging there, but it comes down with some bite on the end.”

Nelsen threw a four- and two-seam fastball, a split-finger as his changeup, and curveball among his repertoire.

“I’ve worked hard on locating all my pitches and getting my curveball the drop that I want,” Nelsen said. “I went to a sharper curveball than a big looping one.”

Nelsen’s fast ball topped out at about 85 mph, but Sutherland said his ability to mix speeds made his fastballs look faster in games.

“He has a calmness to him that is really good for pitching,” Sutherland said.

At the plate, Nelsen also made strides this season. The opportunities to drive in runs were plentiful hitting behind Eric Chandler, Mottashed and Waylock, all of whom hit higher than .400.

“I was in the No. 4 spot a few times last year and this year I really stuck there,” Nelsen said. “I knew I had to come up with RBIs there. I didn’t like getting behind 0-2, so there were times when I wanted to attack that first-pitch fastball and I started hacking away.”