The return of familiar ball players is pivotal for the Naperville Central baseball team following a 22-4 season in 2021. One of those contributors was Colin Barczi, who made a name for himself as a sophomore. Barczi led the Hawks with 34 RBI’s, had a .435 batting average along with a .733-slugging percentage. All of that helped the Hawks to the DVC regular season and tournament titles, while Barczi was named the Conference Player of the year. Not bad for a first varsity season. Find out more in this Player Profile, presented by LifeStance Health.
Colin Barczi: “I was definitely shocked it was a big jump playing on varsity last year so it was a big surprise that I played the way I did I was super happy with my performance last year.”
This year the Hawks picked up right where they left off with the return of Barczi and many familiar faces in the lineup. Having experience on his side for his junior season will be pivotal if the Hawks want to continue the run of success.
Barczi: “Having a few of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors by my side they push. Especially Pambos Nicoloudes, he pushed me to be the player I was having him by my side definitely helped me perform the way I did. We got all the team chemistry we had last year and the bringing in new guys all that we love it really helps with the team bringing them in and it’s just great it’s awesome having those younger guys.”
Impressing the Veterans
As Barczi looks to continue improving from last season, it won’t only help him, but it will help his teammates to make their game play much stronger. Some of the other top sluggers in the Redhawk lineup like Mike Boyce and Michael Umbright believe that the catcher brings a lot of juice into the dugout.
Michael Umbright: “It’s just awesome to have him behind the plate you feel confident when you’re pitching to him as a player he hits and he’s just a good overall teammate.”
Mike Boyce: “He’s the best player I’ve ever seen play baseball and it’s just having him is just like the energy that he brings just by having him around although he’s so good maybe even a better teammate he just brings so much energy by just being as good as he is.”
Powerhouse Future
He may be only a junior, but Barczi already has his talents on the diamond committed to college baseball powerhouse Vanderbilt, who captured the 2019 college World Series championship. But in the meantime, hitting dingers, calling games behind the plate and nabbing base runners for the red and white will be his focus with two seasons left in his Central career.
Barczi: “I definitely worked very hard in the off season to improve in my catching. My hitting’s doing really well I worked on that too but my main thing is that I’ve been catching a lot better than I did last year.”
For Naperville Sports Weekly I’m Patrick Codo
