A senior at Salado, he is hard-working, fundamentally adept and mentally superior - the same characteristics that helped him earn Texas Sports Writers Association Class 2A second-team all-state status last fall in football.
In baseball, Fritsch can get a key hit, steal a base, take the mound to get an out and play every position on the field.
In summary, he just does whatever it takes to succeed.
“He wants to win,” said Salado coach Melvin Bates, whose third-ranked Eagles (26-5) will meet Odem (23-6-1) in the first game of a 2A Region IV semifinal playoff series at 7 p.m. Friday at Cibolo Steele. “He gets about as much out of his athletic ability as possible.”
Fritsch is third on the team with a .443 batting average, second in runs, third in runs batted in and tied with Seth Collins for the team lead in stolen bases with 18.
His versatility is a large reason the Eagles - regional quarterfinalists three straight years - have reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 1998 and are seeking their first regional finals appearance since 1996.
In the second area-round game against Edna, Fritsch made a possibly season-saving defensive play at third base.
With Salado leading 5-2 in the sixth inning, Edna had runners on first and second with one out. Fritsch dove to his right to snare a rocket blasted down the line that would have scored at least one and possibly two runners and put the potential tying run in scoring position.
“It was reaction,” said Fritsch, who along with Collins likely will walk on at Texas Tech to play baseball. “That was just a reaction play and it worked out.”
Then, he got up and alertly threw to second base for the double play to get out of the inning and send the Eagles to a sweep of the Cowboys.
“He made a play that was just totally ridiculous,” Bates said, “but he tries to do those things when we’re out taking batting practice. He’ll jump as high as he can for every line drive that’s over his head. He’ll dive left and right. That allows him to make those plays in a game.
“I had a coach tell me that he (Fritsch) has such good range and reaction over there that we could really move our shortstop somewhere else. When he goes to his left and takes those slow ground balls that are really hit at the shortstop, he cuts them off. He’s a good player.”
While the defensive gem against Edna was on display for Salado’s fans, a less visible move played a large role in getting the Eagles back on track heading into the playoffs.
Before Salado played at rival Troy in a District 25-2A game that later was called because of lightning, Bates decided to move a slumping Fritsch, the Eagles’ No. 3 hitter for a majority of the last three years, to the No. 2 spot. Johnny Nix went from No. 2 to No. 5, while Kevin Jackson and Justin Schiller moved into the third and fourth spots, respectively.
Since that adjustment 10 games ago, the Eagles have scored 116 runs and have been ahead on the scoreboard every time they’ve walked off the field.
“Me and Johnny had both been slumping, so we needed a shakeup,” said Fritsch, who is batting .471 since he moved to the No. 2 spot, while Nix is batting .529 in the No. 5 hole. “We swapped it and so we all started hitting again. Sometimes you have to change something up to see different pitches in different spots.”
Something Fritsch hopes doesn’t change anytime soon is the success the Eagles have enjoyed during his senior year.
After helping lead the football team to a school-record 13 wins and the Division I state semifinals, safety Fritsch was selected the Temple Daily Telegram’s Defensive Player of the Year for Class 3A and under.
He knows the only way to make this season truly satisfying is to have it end at Round Rock’s Dell Diamond in the state title game.
“That’s what we’re after,” he said. “That’s my No. 1 goal, is to be playing baseball in June. That’ll be fun."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
