Two-way standout Bradley Harrison tops returning cast for another strong O’Fallon baseball team

After watching Bradley Harrison as a varsity starter since opening day of his freshman year, O’Fallon High baseball coach Jason Portz is convinced the all-state performer still has plenty of room to grow.

“I really don’t think that kid is even close to his ceiling yet,” Portz said of the 6-foot-4 Harrison, a Southern Illinois University Carbondale recruit who figures to be one of the top hitters, outfielders and pitchers in the state. “I’ve been thrilled with his approach throughout the offseason and early part of this season. He just continues to get better.”

The left-handed Harrison homered twice and had six RBIs during O’Fallon’s 4-0 start, also striking out 10 in his first start against Plainfield.

Harrison was a first-team News-Democrat All-Area choice as both a pitcher and outfielder last season. He was 11-2 on the mound with a 1.32 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings, also pounding out a .418 average with 15 doubles, four homers and 48 RBIs.

Edwardsville Tigers season preview

Waterloo Bulldogs season preview

“He just doesn’t give away at-bats,” Portz said. “Rarely does he swing at a poor pitch.”

O’Fallon rolled up four straight wins, outscoring its opponents 14-2, before heading to Georgia along with Edwardsville for the Rawlings Select Classic tournament. Two wins at the tourney pushed the Panthers’ record to 6-0 and both O’Fallon and Edwardsville reached the tourney semifinals.

The Panthers were ranked 11th in the state in the Illinois PrepBaseballReport.com preseason poll.

O’Fallon is coming off a 30-10 season that saw the Panthers lose to eventual Class 4A state champ Providence Catholic in the Class 4A super-sectional.

“It was just another quality year for our program,” Portz said. “I felt like our kids grinded it out real well throughout the course of the season. We were able to play our best baseball at the end of the year.”

In 13 seasons under Portz, O’Fallon has eight regional titles, four sectional titles and two third-place finishes at the state tournament (2006, 2009).

Season outlook

The biggest loss to graduation was East Carolina University right-hander Chris Holba. Harrison replaces him at the top of the rotation.

The Panthers also return four-year starting shortstop and Alabama recruit Camden Bauer (.278, six doubles, 13 RBIs) and senior three-year starting first baseman Bradley Snyder (.363, nine doubles, one homer, 25 RBIs) along with senior outfielder Dillon Weiss (.395, six doubles, 13 RBIs, 36 runs scored).

Weiss will play football and baseball at Truman State. Portz considers Bauer one of the top defensive shortstops in the state.

For the first time since Harrison four years ago, the Panthers started another freshman on opening day in talented second baseman Josh Gibson. Gibson is the son of former Belleville East and SIU Carbondale standout Brian Gibson.

“He has got as good of skills I have seen any freshman come into our conference with as a middle infielder,” said Portz, who likes Gibson’s bat speed and quickness on the bases. “He’s going to be another quality player in our program and he’s not overwhelmed by anything that we do. (The starting job) certainly was not handed to him.”

Snyder has Division II and Division I interest, but has yet to make a college choice. Weiss will hit in the leadoff spot with Harrison, senior infielder Joe Guithues (.241, four RBIs) and Bauer also in the heart of the lineup.

“We feel like the middle of our order can go out there and produce runs for us in a pretty significant manner,” Portz said.

Junior Chase Hackstadt (6-4, 200), who battled injuries the past two seasons, takes over at catcher with sophomore Jared Dalonzo stepping in at third base.

Weiss is in center, with Harrison in left and Cody Crowder and Nick Boone leading the pack for the right field spot. Also in the outfield mix are Christian Koechner, Caleb Shelton and Kurt Ober.

Mound duty

Along with Harrison, the pitching staff includes impressive junior lefty Max Schaefer, sophomore Logan Boente, Snyder and Bauer. Schaefer won his first two decisions, allowing five hits and one run in 10 innings while striking out eight.

Is Portz worried a lot of the big games could fall to Harrison?

“He’s not going to get any more work than he did last year as our No. 2,” Portz said. “His workload won’t be any heavier this year than it was last year, other than he’ll face the top opponent every week out for us. The fact that we’ve got a legitimate No. 1 really helps.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Two-way standout Bradley Harrison tops returning cast for another strong O’Fallon baseball team."