An offseason spent in weight room continues to pay off for Plano's Jason Phillips. ‘Honestly my biggest focus.'
The junior shortstop wanted to take the next step athletically to continue his upward trajectory.
'That was honestly my biggest focus,' Phillips said. 'I wasn't really worried about anything else other than getting in the weight room.'
The results?
Not only is he off to another monster start offensively, collecting his 100th career hit earlier this week, the 6-foot-1, 226-pound Phillips even shifted to short after playing first base last spring.
With that in mind, Phillips led the Reapers to a 9-3 nonconference win Friday at Somonauk. He had three singles, a steal, a run and an RBI along with making a dazzling play in the hole at short.
Braylon Schmidt earned the win for the Reapers (6-14). He threw a complete game, allowing three unearned runs on one hit. Amari Bryant, Jake Dixon and Jackson Gates each had two hits.
Noah Brandt produced the lone hit for Somonauk (8-8).
Plano coach Nate Hill, meanwhile, has been impressed with Phillips' physical transformation.
'Coming into last year he wasn't necessarily someone we would stick in the middle,' Hill said. 'He got a lot more athletic, quicker and stronger. He's somebody that puts the work in.
'He committed himself to the weight room in the offseason, and it's definitely paying off for him.'
Indeed, Phillips leads the Reapers in most offensive categories. He's hitting .464 with 18 runs, 14 steals, six doubles, two triples, two homers and 17 RBIs. He's also 2-3 with a 5.75 ERA.
Making those statistics all the more impressive is the fact Phillips was expected to deliver for Plano — and he's done just that.
'There's a lot of pressure on him to be 'The Guy,'' Hill said. 'We lost 11 seniors. Him taking over that role as the leader of our dugout, leader on the mound and leader in the field is huge.
'We definitely have expectations for him, and he's lived up to them.'
The other pressure Phillips feels is external. Phillips is the No. 75-ranked junior in Illinois according to Prep Baseball Report, yet he remains uncommitted to a college.
He referred to that process 'pretty slow right now.'
'Honestly, I just try to block it out,' Phillips said. 'At the end of the day, it's just a game. I just try to come out here and give my best effort and have fun. That stuff is going to happen.
'Hopefully, after the summer, it will pick up. I'm definitely trying to play Division I. Wherever it takes me; I'm willing to play wherever.'
Plano jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning Friday to set the tone, but Somonauk responded. The Bobcats couldn't get any closer after cutting the lead to 6-3 at one point.
'We're not a team that's going to go quietly into the night,' Somonauk coach Troy Felton said. 'We've hung with a lot of bigger schools this year, just haven't had quite enough to put them away.
'They will rise to the occasion.'
On the mound, Phillips can hit 90 mph on the gun. Sometimes, control eludes him, but Hill is being patient.
'He brings velocity,' Hill said of Phillips. 'When he's throwing strikes, he's tough to hit. There are times he can still get wild. When he's in the zone, he's darn near unhittable.'
Just like his patience with his college search, Phillips knows that aspect will come.
'I think consistency is the part I need to work on,' he said. 'I think it's just the mental part.'
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