For The Tribune
Sam Crick said he has enjoyed success in baseball for as long as he can remember, and he has thoroughly enjoyed his time practicing and playing at Trinity Lutheran High School.
“I think baseball is something I’ve always excelled at,” he said.
“In a lot of other sports I feel there is a lot of pressure, but with baseball you can go out and there is a lot of space and a lot of room for you to do your own thing. It’s a team sport with a lot individual aspects.”
Crick pitched and played shortstop, and batted in the middle of the order for the Cougars until he suffered a muscle injury in his right (throwing) elbow during a game at Hauser on April 8.
He returned in late April, but was limited to batting.
“Hitting is a mental game,” Crick said. “I’ve been on the other end, I’ve been the one throwing it so think through what the pitcher’s thinking and if I can guess the pitch right I can really hammer it.
“You’ve got to take it where it’s pitched. I try to hit gap shots mostly. I’m not trying to hit home runs, just gap shots.”
Defensively, Crick enjoyed taking on a leadership role.
“I like being the ‘field general,’ telling everyone where they need to be, making sure everybody is in the right position and in the best position they can be to make the play,” he said.
The successes in games came from strong practices, according to crick.
“Practice is everything to me,” Crick said. “Growing up I never really threw hard so it took a lot of hard work to gain pitches, throw a slider, throw a curve, throw a change, and gain a lot of velocity on the fastball.”
He said how he throws different pitches depends on his grip.
“A lot of mine are like the natural grips that you’d see most people do because I’ve figured it out myself, so I do what’s best for me, and a lot of times I will work the seams,” Crick said.
The Cougars won back-to-back Class A Sectional 61 titles, and Crick said that has been his highlight at Trinity.
Crick said he has enjoyed the home games this season.
“My freshman through junior years, we had the grass infield,” he said. “ We got the dirt this year and it’s awesome. It plays smooth and I love it.”
Crick said that choosing Trinity was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
“Growing up I went to Jennings County and it ended at Jennings County Middle School,” Crick said. “Trinity is a small school with a big school feeling because the kids here are normal kids. I fit right in and it’s been great for me. I’ve had great teachers.”
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Name: Sam Crick
School: Trinity Lutheran High School
Parents: Deb and Jobe Crick
Sibling: Tori
Sports: baseball 4 years, basketball 1 year
Athletic highlights: 2016 set season save record, sectional champions
Organizations: National Honor Society
Plans after high school: attend Hanover College, study business, play baseball
Favorite food: fried chicken
Favorite TV show: SportsCenter
Favorite team: Chicago Cubs
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