Brad Gavelek wants to continue playing baseball.

As the season winds down for the NIU baseball team, the senior pitcher is faced with the possibility of not playing baseball anymore.

He knows, however, there’s a chance he could play beyond college. If Gavelek is not snatched by a major league team in the amateur draft this June, there are always the independent leagues. The only way he won’t be able to play is if he’s forced not to. But he knows that will not happen.

“I need to have people tell me that I cannot play anymore for me to realize that I cannot play,” he said. “But it is going to be tough for me. All I know is that I want to play baseball, and nothing is going to stop me from doing that.”

The Elgin native is on the tail end of an illustrious career that ends in about three weeks. Gavelek never wanted to break any records, to get the chance to start his freshman year or be the first starter when conference play came along.

All he wanted was to go out and play the game he always wanted to play.

“When I was a freshman, I had to learn how to pitch — and I had to learn quickly,” Gavelek said. “The first couple of times out there, I pitched it really far out there. The biggest difference between now and then, when I go out there, I am aware of the situations that are out there. That is something that you don’t have when you go out there to the mound as a freshman.”

NIU coach Dave Schrage knows how tough it is to replace his ace pitcher.

“I think Gav’s record speaks for itself,” the second-year coach said. “He has pitched a long time here and is going to be hard to replace. He gives you a lot of innings, which is hard to get from a college pitcher. He is going to be sorely missed.”

When Gavelek looks back at his four years at NIU, he never expected the journey he had to endure. As a pitcher in the Frank Del Medico years in 1998 and 1999, Gavelek did not have a lot of success.

His freshman year, Gavelek was thrown into the pit. Gavelek and the Huskies saw a 1999 season that was one of the worst in NCAA history, going 4-51-1. But the senior feels that season is responsible for bringing him the success he enjoyed this season.

Gavelek earned the chance to be the first pitcher in conference play. He holds a 4-5 record and leads the team with 63 strike-outs. He has four complete games and has pitched in 72 innings in the 11 games he has started.

“When I look back, it has been a long four, five years,” Gavelek said. “It is not easy to play that long. I was fortunate when I came in to play right away. Not that many freshmen can say that. It was a nice opportunity. It is a little bit easier to rack up some of those awards.”courtesy photo

Senior pitcher Brad Gavelek faces possibility of a future without baseball.