On A Wing And A Prayer

The powerful stride, the powerful right arm of a teenager that hurls 90 mph fastballs – these are a small part of who Long Beach Wilson High pitcher Chase De Jong is.

The power of prayer. That tells you all you need to know.

Two years ago, De Jong left the only school he’d known since he was a preschooler. Comforted by nearly a year of prayer that he’d made the right decision, De Jong left Valley Christian High School for Wilson High – a public school five times its size.

Built for power pitching, the 6-foot-5 right hander wanted to see if he could hold his own against the best high school baseball had to offer. So he left the comfort of a campus he’d attended since preschool and looked to prove himself on a bigger stage.

“We prayed about it (the transfer) for about a year. I did this to challenge myself and see how I matched up against the best competition there is,” De Jong said. “I wanted to see what I could do when I went to the big public school.

“At Valley Christian, I could tell you everybody’s first name, last name and everyone in their family. It’s very different going from a school of 500 to 4,500. Growing up where I did in Long Beach, I didn’t come to the school knowing nobody. But I still meet new people here.”

De Jong has excelled with the Bruins. This season, the junior has posted a 10-2 record with an earned run average under 1.00. He has been instrumental in the Bruins run through the CIF Division I playoffs so far, with victories against Riverside King and Simi Valley.

Wilson enters the CIF semifinals tonight against Esperanza with a berth to the finals on the line. The second game of a double header Tuesday night at Blair Field, the Bruins take the field for the 7 p.m. game.

Senior righthander Bobby Webb will start on the mound for the Bruins. While trying not to think beyond Tuesday’s semifinals, Wilson coach Andy Hall will save De Jong for a possible CIF final. But that doesn’t mean that De Jong couldn’t make an appearance in relief Tuesday if needed.

As a pitcher, Hall described De Jong as having a “plus” fastball, which reaches 92 mph on a good day, with a “real dirty curve” to go along with it and a sinking change up that sets up the other two pitches. He also describes him as one of the hardest working players on the team.

“Physically, Chase is the best physical specimen on our team,” Hall said. “He told his dad, ‘I’ve been preparing my body for this part of the season the last two years.’ His dad said he might be able to do the two-inning thing if needed.

“We are all acutely aware of physical limitations. He (De Jong) has a lot more games than this one to pitch in his career.”

“Team Chase” is unique, because his parents are not only supportive, but his father is a doctor and his mother, a counselor. It was his father, an athlete himself in college, that taught him how to pitch.

“My dad helps me understand my body and the maintenance of my body as an athlete,” De Jong said. “He taught me how many days I need to rest, what I need to do after I pitch. I’m just blessed to have him.”

While his dad works on everything from muscle function to nutrition, his mother keeps his mental side of the game in perspective. After all, how many high school pitchers have a sports psychologist as a dinner guest?

“My mom was a counselor and works on the mental part of the game with me,” De Jong said. “That’s where I think I’m a lot stronger than kids my own age. I’m pretty resilient.

“My dad always told me to never let the moment get bigger than me. This is a game. It’s fun and I’m very competitive. But you can’t let a really big game or atmosphere crush you. If you’re not having fun, then you don’t need to play.”