C-G's Aguilera earns juco All-America honors
Living in Quincy, Ill., and taking road trips around Illinois and six other states is a unique way to spend a few months.
But Cary-Grove graduate Eric Aguilera couldn't imagine a better summer than playing baseball and working on his skills every day.
"I don't have a summer job," said Aguilera, who is playing for the Quincy Gems of the 15-team Prospect League, a summer collegiate league. "Hopefully, one day I can do this (as a career)."
During the spring, Aguilera did plenty of work as a sophomore outfielder for Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill.
Aguilera batted .470 and tied for the national lead with 20 home runs while earning first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors.
Aguilera, who will play for Illinois State next season, piled up 71 RBIs for NJCAA Division II Heartland (45-11) with a .967 slugging percentage. The standout season earned Aguilera honors as the Region 24 and Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
"Being able to be the go-to guy was rewarding," Aguilera said. "It was a challenge. I took it head on."
Opposing pitchers, however, didn't challenge Aguilera much with fastballs.
"I saw a lot of curveballs," he said. "It's made me a better off-speed hitter."
Fellow Heartland sophomore Matt Igara of Jacobs was named the Mid-West Conference first-team designated hitter after ranking eighth in the country with 83 RBIs while hitting .410 with 13 homers and 22 doubles. Igara will play at Western Illinois next season.
Warhawk speedster: Prairie Ridge grad Tim Prelletz helped D-III Wisconsin-Whitewater's 4x400-meter relay team post a season-best time in the biggest meet of the spring.
Prelletz, a sophomore, ran the anchor leg of the 4x400 race late last month at the NCAA outdoor championships in Berea, Ohio, helping the team to a time of 3 minutes, 14.44 seconds in the preliminaries for the event's ninth-best time. The Warhawks missed making the eight-team finals by only .36 of a second.
Preseason football honors: Johnsburg grad Kyle Fiedorowicz, a senior tight end at D-III North Central College in Naperville, has been recognized in the Lindy's Sports college football preview magazine.
Fiedorowicz, who caught six touchdown passes last season, was named a second-team preseason All-American by the magazine, which ranks North Central at No. 15. The Sporting News preview magazine ranks NCC at No. 14.
Defending national champ Wisconsin-Whitewater, whose roster includes defensive end Jon Baldwin (Richmond-Burton) and offensive lineman Alex Misialek (Crystal Lake South), are ranked No. 1 in both preseason publications.
Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.
