Hard work defines Schultz

RIVERSIDE — It is hard work to be a hard worker.

Chase Schultz of Highland has toiled endlessly at the game of baseball. The labor input to the natural talent has resulted in an output of constant progression of improvement.

One of the results of that progression was the honor of being named one of two players of the year in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division for this past season. It was an honor shared with Jaxon Brooks of Mediapolis.

“Getting Player of the Year was quite a surprise to me,” Schultz said. “I had hoped I could get first team. To get (Player of the Year) is pretty awesome and really means a lot to me to be at that level.”

Highland finished second to Mediapolis in the race for the North Division crown. Highland had a division record of 12-3 and finished 16-9 overall. The Bulldogs were 13-2 in the North, 19-10 overall. Both suffered a disappointing end to the 2021 season. The Bulldogs lost 13-0 to Williamsburg. Highland lost 4-1 to North Cedar.

The two teams split their matchups with Highland winning in Riverside June 1, 3-1, and Mediapolis winning its home game with the Huskies 2-1 June 21. The two players of the year pitched in both games.

Schultz recorded 13 punch outs in the Huskies home win as he pitched all but the final out. He gave up four hits and five walks while Brooks in the same game hit a batter, gave up a walk and an earned run in one inning on the mound. At the plate, Brooks went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Schultz went 1-for-2 with a run batted in.

“Chase Schultz is a hard worker, and he keeps getting better,” Highland baseball coach Seth Milledge said.

Schultz pitched again at Mediapolis and again gave up just four hits. He walked two and struck out seven. The Huskies had played errorless ball in the first meeting, but an unearned run was the difference in the loss.

Brooks pitched through two outs in the fifth inning of the second game, allowing the run, giving up two hits, walking six and striking out eight. In the batter’s box, Schultz was 0-for-1 with two walks and a strikeout. Brooks struck out once and hit a double that plated a run.

Schultz led the North with eight wins, Brooks was second with five. Schultz was first in strikeouts with 74, Brooks fourth at 61. Schultz had an earned run average (ERA) of 1.15, Brook 0.95. That was first and second for pitchers with more than 20 innings. Brooks had 29.1 innings pitched while Schultz’s 54.2 led the North. Walks plus innings pitched (WHIP) statistic was 1.04 for Schultz and 1.06 for Brooks.

“Chase had a great year,“ Milledge said.

Schultz was 4-2 as an eighth-grader over 37.1 innings with 39 strikeouts and 15 walks, with an ERA of 2.44 and a WHIP of 1.34. His freshman record was 2-3 over 26.1 innings, 34 strikeouts, 14 walks, 1.63 WHIP and 5.32 ERA. As a sophomore, he threw the same amount of innings with 26 strikeouts, 11 walks, a WHIP of 1.2 and an ERA of 2.62.

“Chase has been a great pitcher for us over the years, going 17-8 so far in his career,” Milledge said. “Over the last couple years, he has really come into his own at the plate, especially in conference play, hitting .522 and .488 over the two seasons.”

He batted .250 in 2018 and .150 as a freshman in 2019. As a sophomore, his overall average was .366 and .343 this season.

Does Schultz prefers hitting or pitching?

Take a look at his offseason workouts provides a big clue.

When it is cold outside, Diamond Dreams facility in North Liberty gets a lot of visits from Schultz. “I am not there to hit and throw but mainly pitch because I feel that is my strong suit over anything else. By going there, I feel it has helped me the most over these last four or five years of playing baseball.”

Schultz said the speed and control he has on his fastball has improved because of the time spent there. While a curve ball is always a constant battle, Shultz has better command of it with the help of the work he has done at Diamond Dreams.

“The high point of my career is pitching and that is a result of always having a belief in myself that I can do it,” Schultz said. “Rather than being nervous about it, I have to be positive.”

It took a while for Schultz to get to that point. “I didn’t expect to win a lot when I was younger, but everything has worked out.”

Not only is he personally proud of the Player of the Yera accolade, Schultz said his teammates are a large part of the award. “For me to be able to represent my team, it really means a lot to me because we had a lot of players make the all-conference roster,” he said. “I try to look at myself and my team as underdogs because nobody looks for Highland to make a state run and go to the state tournament.”

Highland recently had another Player of the Year for the Super Conference in the North Division and maybe it’s no coincidence that the two players share the same first name. Chase Rath was the Player of the Year his senior year of 2017, hitting 13 doubles, three home runs, .494 average, .598 on base percentage and a .790 slugging percentage, a 6-1 pitching record with 61 strikeouts, 18 walks, an earned run average of 1.17 and a walks plus hits per innings pitched of 0.99.

Rath was a two-time second team all-state player in Milledge’s first two years as Highland coach.

To excel, one must chase the dream. Schultz is doing that with additional help.

The Highland baseball team had seven players beside Schultz garner honors from the Super Conference North Division coaches: a first team catcher in Trevor McFarland (. 432 on base percentage, five doubles, a triple, 23 runs batted in); a first team infielder in Luke Miller (20-of-21 stolen bases, .505 OBP, six doubles, two home runs, 21 RBIs); a first team outfielder in Logan Bonebrake (16-of-21 stolen bases, two home runs, three doubles, 22 RBIs, .398 OBP); a second team pitcher in Connor Grinstead (. 422 OBP, 17-of-20 stolen bases, 3.98 earned run average, 36 strikeouts, 21 walks); utility Kaige Vonnahme (. 478 OBP, 24 RBIs) and two honorable mentions in Brenton Bonebrake and Bryce Thompson.

Thompson was the only senior on the team. Logan Bonebrake was a sophomore. All other Huskies that received division honors are in Schultz’s junior class. Schultz was a first team pick for all-district and Miller made second team.

Next year’s senior-laden Highland team will be “a team to watch for,” Schultz said.

Schultz has a motto of always having a positive mindset. It is a mantra that makes him and his teammates better.

“Whenever I have a start on the mound, I try to get my teammates up to where I am, to the point that I am,” Schultz said. “My teammates are just as important as me so I need to get them at the same level. In order for us to be at our best, to go to places we want, we all need to be on the same page and hitting on the same cylinder.”

Although things didn’t end well in 2021 for the Huskies, the hard lesson learned may be what spurs them to have success.

“Everybody being positive and being together, just having the same mindset is going to be a big part of us having success and winning more games.”

“We were dominant enough this year and then we have that many players returning so I think that might put a target on our backs,” Schultz said. “We have kids on the bench that are going to be pretty dangerous playing full time.”

Every sport has an offseason yet there is but one for Schultz, baseball’s. He does go out for other sports. Schultz plays football for Highland and averaged 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Huskies basketball team in 2020-21.

But there’s no contenders for his preferred sport. It is baseball, far and away the favorite.

Schultz toils constantly, whether it is at baseball or when it’s time to earn the money. When not working hard at the game he loves, Schultz is “working the day away” full time helping his uncle in his electrical business. But mainly, it is just during the summer. “Because during school, it wouldn’t work,” Schultz said.

Playing varsity as an eighth-grader and freshman, he was often nervous. Maturity and age have made a difference. “I’m a big believer in myself now and a believer in God, and I think that makes a difference. I really trust in myself, trust in my coaches, trust my teammates, trust in the Lord. That always gives me an extra boost to be able to go out and throw hard and throw strikes.”

There are always ups and downs to sports and Schultz has had his share. He was mired in a hitting slump this season and called it the low point in his high school career. ”Going through a slump hurts my toughness in my head. You start thinking about striking out instead of getting a hit. You start thinking about popping up or grounding out and it got bad there for a while.“

The low point lasted a number of games. Schultz “just kept working on it.” It helps to have a batting cage at home and a cousin that knows how to hit.

“Drake Brezina played at Iowa Mennonite School a few years ago, and he came out to help me. My dad and my coaches gave me some pointers, too. Mainly, it’s a confidence thing. It was about how I would approach each at bat."

Approaching the next level of baseball is something Schultz is unsure of. College has been a big question mark for Schultz because he doesn’t see himself as a four-year student.

“As bad as I would love to play college baseball for a great school, I’m just not 100 percent sure if that’s going to be the move I make. If there’s a trade school that has baseball, I would love to have an opportunity in pursuing the sport that I love.”