Positive difference

Being the big fish in a small pond wasn’t exactly Eric Kelly’s dream when the Rogers High School senior made his varsity baseball debut three years ago for the Pirates.

But since that’s the way things worked out for him, Kelly has made the most of it, developing into one of the top players in the Greater Spokane League and one with a college future in the game, according to his coach.

Kelly was one of five seniors this season for the Pirates, who concluded their season Friday. Coach Jim Wasem had no juniors on the squad, so the rest of his 11-man team was made up of freshmen and sophomores.

“That was hard for Eric because he’s such a competitor,” said Wasem. “He was our best pitcher, but our defense suffered when he was pitching because he wasn’t at shortstop. He did a great job, though, at staying positive in the face of adversity.”

“I think he’s one of the top two players in the GSL,” Wasem said. “He can go on and play. It’s been hard for him in that regard because college coaches don’t usually come to watch Rogers play. He was a twice-a-week pitcher most of the season for us, and he ended up hitting .442.”

Kelly is the middle of three Rogers brothers to make the Pirate varsity as a freshman. He was preceded by Matt, who went on to play at Spokane Falls Community College, and was joined this season by younger brother Chris.

“Like most freshmen,” Wasem said, “Eric was wide-eyed and a little scared when he came in. He played some infield as a freshman, started pitching his sophomore year and hasn’t missed a game since then. In fact, he’s hardly missed an inning.

“It’s obviously not a great situation for us or for our freshmen, having to push them into the lineup before they’re ready. It’s rough for a while, but I’ll tell you what, by the time they’re seniors, they should be like college kids.”

For his part, Kelly feels that his experience at Rogers has helped him grow as both an athlete and as a person.

“I learned how to be a leader here,” he said. “I learned that no matter who you are, you can step up and lead.

“It’s been hard that we’re so young, because I’m really competitive, but I was in those guys’ shoes when I was a freshman, so I need to help them out. The main thing is, how lucky I was to be able to play four years on the varsity.

“The coolest thing, without a doubt, was having my little brother on the team this year. It was an amazing feeling, probably the best thing that happened in my four years here. It’s the first time I’ve ever played with Chris on a team, and that helped me a lot to relate to the other freshmen.”

Kelly’s been the baseball equivalent of a gym rat after giving football a brief try as a ninth-grader. Since then, he’s played in a fall instructional baseball league, attended camps year-round, worked out in the Warehouse and played every summer.

Where does he want to play next? “Anywhere they’ll take me. I’m going to keep playing as long as I can.”

Wherever he goes, he’ll remember the lessons he’s learned from Wasem.

“He’s been a second dad to me, a great coach who’s helped me with everything. He taught me about being a ballplayer and about being a good person.

“I’ve learned to always try to have fun and to support all the other guys. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s important to have fun while you can.”