Back on the mound: Healthy again, area trio of pitchers look forward to 2022 season

Published 11:20 am Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Injuries can sometimes be the end of a promising athletic career. But three area pitchers didn’t let that stop them.

Barbe’s J.C. Vanek had to reinvent himself as a first baseman in 2021. Sam Houston’s Luke Yuhasz played a handful of games before an injury sidelined him last season, and Sulphur’s Jake Brown played in the outfield, waiting for his arm to heal. With a clean bill of health this season, all three are looking forward to returning to the pitching mound.

“It is a good feeling playing on the infield and hitting, but there is nothing like being out there with the lights on and being on the bump,” Vanek said.

Vanek, a junior southpaw LSU commit, had Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2021 after batting .384 and leading the Bucs to their 11th state championship in May. He had three hits and two RBIs in the finals.

“It made me stronger physically and mentally,” Vanek said. “It wasn’t just the physical standpoint of grinding back. It was more like you are facing adversity. The day I had it (surgery), I honestly didn’t know how I was going to come back. I promised myself that I was going to work as hard as I could.”

Vanek will be in the Bucs starting rotation along with senior Gavin Guidry and sophomore Landon Victorian. All throw in the mid-80s or higher with four pitches at their disposal according to Vanek.

“It is going to be great,” Vanek said. “It is going to be tough to get through those three, for sure.

“I want to win again. I want to get back out there with our boys. You can’t really replace the seniors from last year, but we have a really good group, and it is going to be really exciting to see what we have.”

Brown’s freshman season, 2020, looked promising with a 10-strikeout performance against Hahnville and nine strikeouts against Opelousas Catholic, but the coronavirus pandemic ended the season early.

Then a stress fracture in his pitching arm forced him to play in the outfield last season. He was solid at the plate, hitting .315 with 15 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and 25 runs scored. Brown said the year away from the mound benefited him.

“Last year was good because I got the chance to work on my body, get strong and get ready for the return,” Brown said. “I am happy to be back.

“It was an over-time thing. It bothered me a little bit, then it went away. Then I went and threw and caught it pretty good, I guess. It was tempting to just go all-out at first when I was coming back. It has been a pretty easy recovery, making sure I don’t feel any pain again.”

Brown, an LSU commit, will help fill the void left in the Tors’ pitching staff after the graduation of Kade McBride, who now plays for McNeese State.

“Hopefully, I can get a lot of outs on the field and let our hitters hit,” Brown said. “I don’t want to waste any pitches and get out of there as fast as I can. I think we have a really good group (pitchers). We lost Kade (McBride), but all our other pitchers are the same. I think we will be really good and shut out a lot of teams.”

Yuhasz had to rebound from two injuries. Last season, he pitched 51/3 relief innings, didn’t allow an earned run and 10 struck out batters before an injury led to Tommy John surgery.

Then during the football season, he damaged the labrum in his left shoulder playing wide receiver.

“I am really excited,” Yuhasz said. “The season is right around the corner, and I am ready to get back on the field.

“We had COVID (in 2020), then I played 10 games last year and had Tommy John (surgery). I have been doing a lot of recovery, and it has been going really good. I am just ready to get back out there with it. About a month ago, I started throwing flat-grounds, and it has been feeling pretty good.”

Yuhasz, a Louisiana-Lafayette signee, is looking forward to returning as the Broncos’ relief pitcher.

“It depends on the situation in the game, but it is exciting,” Yuhasz said. “You have either one or two innings, and it is up to you.

“You have to finish it out. Say our (starting) pitcher been throwing a really good game, you have to go out there and back him up and finish it out for him.”

Yuhasz also swings a big bat with seven RBI, and five runs scored in 10 games in 2021.