Morton's Will Has a Way (Around the Strike Zone)
By: Kurt Pegler - WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: May 1, 2012
WMBD/WYZZ-TV - MORTON, Ill. -- He makes it look easy but Will Headean says it wasn't always that way.
Like when he was a varsity starting pitcher. As a freshman.
"I had no idea (what I was doing). I was scared," said Headean. "It was fun but it seems like forever ago. But the knowledge I have now after going through that was helpful this year."
His coach disagrees with Headean's introduction to high school baseball.
"I had him in junior high," said Morton coach Jeff Millard. "When he walked in here his freshman year and threw a pitch off the mound, I thought 'Wow, he's going to be as good here as he was in junior high.' And he has been."
The lefty has been overpowering for the Potters this spring. Last Monday, he had a 14-strike out game against Washington. Morton's two-game sweep of the Panthers put Morton atop the Mid-Illini conference standings.
"The beautiful weather we've had," said Headean when asked why his strike out totals are up this season. "There's more giddy-up on the fastball. It helps. When you know you have a team behind you to make plays, you can pound the strike zone."
Headean and the Potters are on a roll right now. About the only thing that can stop them is this week's rain.
He'll play at Illinois State next season but he's not ready to think about the future just yet.
"I'm real excited about going to Normal and playing for the Redbirds. But I want to play with these guys longer," said Headean. "I grew up playing with these guys since I was 7-years-old. It's been fun so we want to drag this out and think about college later."
