Highland’s Willis enjoys late surge in pandemic shortened season with Kaskaskia

Right as the 2020 college baseball season began round into shape, Kaskaskia College infielder Jacob Willis was just beginning to find his stroke at the plate and hit the ball well.

Then on March 7, after a doubleheader at Rend Lake College, Willis and the Blue Devils’ season was over courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the United States.

For Willis, it was a bittersweet end to a promising spring.

“Everything was fine (with the swing) and I was just missing and then we found out the next week that the season was done, so that’s really what hurt (me),” Willis said.

Willis, a 2019 HHS grad, came into the fall season ready to swing a big bat at 6-foot-2 and a bulky 210 pounds.

That sturdy frame allowed him to step into the plate and pound the ball around the field during the fall season.

“I had a good all-around fall season,” Willis said. “I didn’t really have any problems in the fall. I hit really well and I fielded really well.”

As he worked himself into shape from the fall season, Willis noticed two big differences between playing junior college baseball and playing at Highland. The type of pitching that he saw and the speed of the pitches at that level.

“The biggest difference I saw coming into college was definitely the pitching,” Willis said. “The pitching is just totally different. I hit (in) the three-hole both in the fall and spring every single game I played this year and I probably got 30 percent fastballs and the rest off-speed (pitches). It was crazy.”

Willis also said the pitch speed would vary depending on the size of the pitcher.

“At the JUCO level, you have some guys that are going D-1 and then you have some little freshmen that might not have put on some weight yet and you might see a kid throwing (the ball) 79 to 83 and the next pitcher comes in and then they’re throwing 91 to 92.”

Fielding was also a bigger challenge for Willis as a freshman at Kaskaskia. After not playing third base much in high school and primarily being a shortstop, Willis had to readjust to the demands of playing the hot corner.

“My defense definitely could have been better as the transition over to third was a little difficult,” Willis said. “There’s definitely a lot more reaction at third because balls are hit a lot harder. At third base, you have to just deal with what (bounces) you get.”

Willis played and hit in 13 games this spring and, although his average was just .214 at the end of the shortened season, his stroke was definitely rounding into form as the season wound down.

Hitting his stride until coronavirus

That much was evident in the Blue Devils final doubleheader of the season March 7 at Rend Lake as he got two hits, walked twice and scored a pair of runs in six at-bats.

“That last Saturday that we played, I really started seeing the ball well and I had some line dives and really hard-hit balls that day,” Willis said. “Up until that point, you could tell I was just under it or up on top of it. My timing was there and everything was fine.”

Earlier in the season, Willis had arguably his best day of the campaign in a doubleheader at Northeast Mississippi College on Feb. 21. He clicked for three hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs.

In order to improve his hitting next season as a sophomore, Willis said he needs to cut down on his strikeouts which went up this spring after being down in high school.

“I need to have good contact, really,” Willis said. “Keep those strikeout numbers down. I kind of got away from putting the ball in play and started trying to get some power numbers up. I need to get back to a more level swing (at the plate).”

Back home in Highland, summer plans

Since the season ended in early March, Willis has been back home in Highland the last month, working on his general ed classes online and working part-time as well as lifting weights at home as he begins to get in shape for next season.

He is also planning on playing summer baseball again this time with the St. Louis Bandits of the St. Louis Metro Collegiate Baseball League. That season is still in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

“I haven’t heard anything (about it), so I’m not really sure if they’re going to have it,” Willis said.