Columbus East coach Jon Gratz felt that senior pitcher and outfielder Alec Burnett had a lot of potential when looking at him his freshman year.
Burnett’s growth over the next three years proved Gratz right after watching him grow into the team leader he is today, despite battling nagging injuries in each of the past three seasons. Gratz said Burnett has grown into a player that he knows he can rely on when needed.
“He’s got really good stuff,” Gratz said of Burnett’s pitching. “He throws hard with good movement, some good off-speed stuff. I think he’s really matured on the mound. We can send him out there, and we feel that he can get the job done in tough situations.”
Gratz has multiple top pitching options to choose from with three Division I recruits in Drew Hasson (Northern Illinois), Julian Greenwell (Indiana) and Cole Gilley (Indiana). However, Gratz is leaning toward going with the University of Indianapolis commit in Burnett to start today’s game at Columbus North.
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One area where Burnett feels like he’s grown the most is in his leadership and mentality in crucial pitching moments, so he feels confident that he can get his team off to the right start against the Bull Dogs.
“It’s super exciting getting this opportunity to throw against North,” Burnett said. “It’s just something everybody’s looking forward to, finding out who’s going to get the opportunity to do it because it is a big game, and it is a big deal.”
Burnett is 2-2 this season with 32 strikeouts and 11 walks in 16 innings. He said the best part about having such a strong pitching staff is knowing that he has other guys who are at his level and understands where he is and who he can lean on and get opinions from when he finds himself in a tough pitching situation. That is a testament to the impact that this year has had on his baseball career at East.
Burnett said his senior year is the most special season of them all because the type of leadership on the team allows him to know that he can lean on any one of them throughout the season, which makes it feel like a family. The Olympians will be looking to lean on him to get them off to a good start against North.
“Being a pitcher, you have a really big place in setting your team off on the right foot or being a momentum builder or momentum killer,” Burnett said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s a really cool opportunity you get to have to come out and throw a strong inning to give your team some power at the plate. It lets my defense play easier and play loose. Guys are playing loose at the plate when they know that I’m going to come out and throw competitively and not back down from the challenge.”
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Columbus East at Columbus North baseball
When: 5:30 p.m. today
Where: Southside Elementary
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