That junior catcher Zach Bava has become one of Naperville North’s leaders this season is no surprise.
Less expected, at least for Bava, was the decision that set him on this course. Naperville North coach Jim Chiappetta put him on the varsity team at the beginning of his freshman season.
“I didn’t think I would be brought up right away,” Bava said.
Nor did he think he would get assigned to start opening day as the Huskies’ catcher. Chiappetta sprang that news on him the day before the game.
“I was nervous the day that I found out,” Bava said. “But the day after, I was like, ‘I can’t be nervous going into the first game because then I won’t be confident in myself.’
“I knew I put in a bunch of work, and I was just going to be myself no matter what. It happened to work out.”
That it did. Bava excelled from the get-go, earning all-conference honors in the DuPage Valley Conference. The Illinois State commit did it again last season, batting .408 with 10 doubles, three home runs and 27 RBIs as a sophomore.
Not many freshmen play varsity baseball. Fewer still are catchers who make an immediate impact.
“It’s totally rare, especially when you look at the catchers we’ve had in this conference the past couple years, like Colin Barczi,” Chiappetta said. “He showed right away he belonged.
“Tough obviously for a 15-year-old kid to step into a situation like that, but he totally took control. He worked his way up the lineup, and by the end of the season his freshman year, he was a guy you relied on consistently.”
What made Bava’s ascent even more impressive was he didn’t start catching until eighth grade.
“I just happened to get put back there because we needed a guy, and I really fell in love with it because you’re always involved in the game,” Bava said. “You’re basically the captain on the field. That’s something I really enjoy.”
The 5-foot-8 Bava punches well above his weight as a hitter.
“My strengths right now, I would say, are putting bat to ball, barrel control, getting the ball in play,” he said. “I don’t hit it as far as a guy that’s way bigger than me, but I feel like I put it in play the majority of the time, and I don’t strike out that much.
“And then I feel like I have a good eye at the plate. I don’t swing at a lot of balls outside the zone, and I just pick my pitches.”
Bava can also pick everyone else’s pitches. His handling of the Huskies’ pitching staff, which includes returning starters Jackson Prentice, Zak Sumser and Max Steele, has been superb.
“He’s got the ability to call the game on his own,” Chiappetta said of Bava. “He understands the zone and each of his pitchers. He’s been seeing them for two years, so he knows what they have. His leadership shows in that realm without question. It’s a luxury for us.”
Having a Division I catcher, especially one with Bava’s awareness of what it takes to master the position, is indeed a luxury.
“The keys are just trusting your pitcher and what they want to throw,” he said. “You’re there to make them look good, not the other way around. If they’re confident in their stuff, let them choose what they want, and you’ve just got to be there.”
Bava has been there for the Huskies for more than two years, but this season will be his first as one of the team’s leaders.
“It’s weird,” he said. “I remember my first game just being the young guy on the bus, getting the worst jobs for the team, and now it’s my job to lead everybody.
“But I feel like I’ll be ready for it. I’ve had some great mentors, whether that be coaches here or past players. Even the guys that are still here that are a year above me help me lead the way I want to lead.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
