Signs point up for H-F baseball program

The demise of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School baseball program has been talked about for more than a few years now.

Changing demographics, with African-American students now outnumbering whites in the hallways, and the decision of talented junior high players to bypass H-F in favor of area private schools, made the downfall inevitable.

However, in a season full of surprises, H-F's success ranks among the best.

The Vikings are 11-1, having won nine in a row. It's a heck of a start, to say the least.

It's even more impressive when you consider H-F no longer can trot left-hander Aaron Hauge to the mound every fifth day.

Hauge, a two-time All-Area selection, is dominating at Heartland Community College. And when I say dominating, I mean dominating. He's 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 65 strikeouts and just seven walks in 37 innings.

Losing a pitcher of that caliber - the left-hander is among the top pitchers the program ever has produced - should have assured the Vikings of some slippage in the standings.

Amazingly, the Vikings have been able to weather the storm - how's that for a play on words in reference to this spring?

Granted, the Vikings' early nonconference schedule could use a definite upgrade. But H-F has taken care of business, in most cases, in lopsided fashion.

Coach Todd Sippel is happy with his team's start, of course. He remains guardedly optimistic of his team's prospects to compete in the SouthWest Suburban Blue.

"Well, we'll see where we're at now that conference has started," Sippel said. "We may end up being pretenders and get our doors blown off in conference. But I think we're going to contend."

So do I.

It all starts with pitching, and the Vikings have a solid quartet in senior right-handers David Fatoki and Evan Nietfeldt, junior righty Justin Smith and junior lefty Dan Lietz.

Fatoki is a bulldog, boasting the mentality of a pitcher with a 90-mph fastball at his disposal. In reality, his fastball is 85 on its best day. But his off-speed arsenal is super and will keeps hitters honest.

Nietfeldt and Smith are valuable pieces, but the one to keep an eye on his Lietz. The lanky lefty can be overpowering, but will have to effectively mix in his off-speed pitches to excel against conference competition.

"David and Dan are both 3-0, but I don't think they've pitched at their best yet," Sippel said. "David is still building arm strength from playing basketball. Danny has No. 1 stuff. He's only going to get better."

Along with good defense up the middle, led by the double-play tandem of junior shortstop Ben Kirchler and junior second baseman David Stern, H-F should be in the thick of the race, especially when one considers the struggles of perennial front-runners Sandburg and Lockport. Neither team has lived up to preseason expectations. The Eagles are 7-4, the Porters 7-6.

For years, both programs could rely on a bona fide ace. That's not the case this year.

The way I see it, the SWSC Blue is up for grabs.

So why not H-F?

"If we play defense I think we have a shot," Sippel said. "We have to pick up the ball. I think we have some decent pitchers that will keep us in the game. We're swinging the bats well, but we haven't faced many No. 1 pitchers."

That's about to change.

The Vikings offense has been productive. Kirchler is hitting .500 with a team-high 13 RBI. Senior Nico Kelly is hitting .444. Lietz and junior Steve Roman also have chipped in nicely with the bat.

But the biggest surprise has been the contribution of Elon Chamberlain. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior has provided considerable pop from the left side of the plate.

Elon is the son of Wes Chamberlain, a Simeon graduate who played parts of six seasons in the big leagues for the Phillies and Red Sox.

I can attest to the elder Chamberlain's skills. We started our minor league careers together - he with the Pirates, me with the Mets - and competed against each other more than a few occasions.

Wes was a five-tool talent, a can't-miss prospect. If young Elon has half of his pop's skills, the hits should keep on coming.

"Elon has really come on strong," Sippel said. "We really weren't expecting much from him this year but he's been hitting the ball hard. He's a presence at the plate."

And H-F should remain a presence in top 10 polls for a few more years. With 15 juniors on this squad and a talented freshmen group, the Vikings' demise has greatly been exaggerated.

"We have a young group this year and we have some good arms on the freshmen team," Sippel said. "The well isn't drying up just yet."

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.