PR outfielder Kaczmarski will play D-I

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In baseball parlance, Kevin Kaczmarski’s list of colleges in which he was most interested sprayed to all fields.

The Prairie Ridge senior center fielder heard the most from one large NCAA Division I school (Illinois), one small one (Evansville, Ind.) and one NAIA (St. Xavier in Chicago).

Kaczmarski admits he had doubts about the size of Evansville, a school of about 3,000 students, until he saw the Missouri Valley Conference school. Kaczmarski loved the place and committed to the Purple Aces’ coaching staff last week. Kaczmarski said his athletic scholarship offer covered about 70 percent of tuition and fees.

“It was actually the only visit [to a D-I school] I made,” he said. “It’s a smaller school, and I didn’t know if I’d like it, but it was really nice. I liked it.”

Kaczmarski was a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection last spring when he helped the Wolves to a 29-8 record and the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship. Kaczmarski, a left-handed leadoff hitter, hit .426 with three home runs and 23 RBIs, and also stole 33 bases in 39 attempts.

During his sophomore season, Kaczmarski was called up for the Wolves’ postseason run to the IHSA Class 4A state championship and utilized as a pinch-runner.

Kaczmarski was scouted heavily over the summer, when he was invited to the prestigious Area Code Games tryouts in the Chicago area, and represented the FVC in the Stevenson Showcase. Evansville called him July 1, the first day D-I coaches could call recruits.

Prairie Ridge coach Glen Pecoraro said SIU-Edwardsville, Creighton and Villanova were other D-I programs that showed interest in Kaczmarski.

“[Evansville] was one of the first teams to talk to me,” Kaczmarski said. “They’re losing some outfielders after this year. They said they don’t have a true center fielder, so that’s what I could be starting off. They want me in the leadoff spot.”

Pecoraro said Kaczmarski was interested in Illinois, but the Fighting Illini’s scholarship offer was not substantial.

“I told him, ‘Go where they want you,’ ” Pecoraro said. “I think he really made a good decision. The Missouri Valley’s one of the best conferences in the country. He’s a great kid who will get along with everybody.”

Fiedorowicz on TV: Johnsburg senior C.J. Fiedorowicz can be seen on “Sports Stars of Tomorrow,” a TV show hosted by Pat Summerall, three times this weekend. The show will be aired on WFLD-TV at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, and at noon on Comcast SportsNet. The show also will air at 3 p.m. Sunday on Comcast SportsNet.

Fiedorowicz, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound wide receiver, is rated as one of the top 100 college football prospects in the nation. He is a two-time Northwest Herald All-Area first-team player and has been one of the area’s top players this season.

Fiedorowicz committed to Illinois in July, but now also is considering Iowa. The Skyhawks were 6-3 in the regular season and will meet Harvard (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in an IHSA Class 4A first-round playoff game.

Into R-B’s Hall: Richmond-Burton’s Julie Moore (1984) and the 1983 Rockets’ girls volleyball team recently were inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame.

Moore was a three-year varsity starter and the Rockets’ volleyball MVP her senior year. Moore’s 1983 team was the first R-B team in any sport to advance to the supersectional level. She also was a standout player in basketball but had her senior year cut short by a knee injury.

The 1983 team was tagged the “Cardiac Kids” by R-B fans. The Rockets won the Big Eight Conference and Class A regional and sectional titles. Jan Welch was the coach of that R-B team.

• Joe Stevenson covers high school sports for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached at 815-526-4513. He also can be reached by fax at 815-459-5640 or by e-mail at jstevenson@nwherald.com.