Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week, Burlington Central’s Chase Powrozek, senior, baseball – Shaw Local

Name: Chase Powrozek

School: Burlington Central, senior

Sport: Baseball

What he did: In a Class 3A regional semifinal game against Rochelle, Powrozek faced the minimum 21 batters in a no-hitter and also went 3 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBIs.

Powrozek was selected the Athlete of the Week based on an online vote.

Here is his Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

You were just an error away from a perfect game. What were you feeling in that game?

Powrozek: I just had a lot of confidence, which is helped by being on varsity for four years and it being my fifth playoff game that I pitched in. And I knew I wasn’t going to have too hard of a time as long as I threw strikes and just attacked and that’s exactly what I did.

What was the feeling having that performance to start the playoffs?

Powrozek: I think it helped set the tone for our team, because we’ve been kind of up and down all year, and it kind of just gave us a big boost going into the regional final, which we ended up winning. And then it helped for me as well because I had my worst start of the year two weeks ago and to bounce back and my last two starts, it really helped my confidence.

You also helped yourself out at the plate in the game, going 3 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. How did that feel?

Powrozek: It felt really good. That’s kind of what happens normally when I pitch — either I don’t hit at all because I’m worried about pitching or not worried about so then I hit really well. But it was nice to have a big game like that, especially in the playoffs because I know my I’ll be done with hitting pretty soon here since I’m only pitching in college.

The Rockets just won their third consecutive regional title. How did it feel to get that out of the way?

Powrozek: We all knew we should win, so we had a lot of confidence coming into that game, but we’re also very young. I think we had four or five sophomores starting during that game, so it’s still a new team compared to the last two years when we won. So it was also good for them to show them that we can do it, and then just keep building confidence going into these next couple games.

Talk about the growth this team has had. You mentioned it being an up-and-down season, but you guys are on the up now.

Powrozek: It’s kind of unreal. We lost about pretty much all of our pitching other than me. We lost five starters from the field from last year, and pretty much everyone we’ve replaced with them as sophomores. We’re a really young team, and there’s been a lot of growing pains, especially when we hit conference play. But I think we’re definitely playing the best we’ve played all year up to this point. There’s just a different feel now, especially since we’re winning. We’ve got more confidence and belief that we actually can do it all.

What do you like to have before a game?

Powrozek: It’s kind of been a thing over the last year where my mom normally gets Panera or a Jimmy Johns sandwich before for lunch. That’s just kind of been the usual thing I eat before I pitch.

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