Blake Albers missed his entire junior baseball season after suffering an injury to his shoulder playing football. The 6-foot-6-inch left-hander hasn’t missed a beat since returning to the diamond this spring, however, and his bat has given the Hubs varsity baseball team a significant power boost.

A three-sport athlete who spent four years with both the Rochelle football and basketball programs, Albers played two years of baseball during his freshman and sophomore years before being sidelined last year. However, Albers has quickly found his hitting stroke at the plate, and he has three home runs and seven RBIs in 11 games this season while recording five runs and one double.

Albers currently holds a .357 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage. The senior has spent most of his life pitching, but he’s since adjusted to playing first base and the outfield in addition to serving as a designated hitter. Albers is one of three boys in his family who play baseball, as his older brother Matt graduated in 2017 and his younger brother Nick plays for Rochelle’s sophomore team.

“Coach [Jarrod Reynolds] told me at the beginning of the year that he wasn’t sure what my role would be because he wasn’t sure how well my shoulder would be throwing-wise,” Albers said. “He’s put me in spots where I could have an opportunity and I think I’m making the most of those. I’m just trying to improve and get better. Hopefully I can continue to have success.”

The Hubs have started the season strong in conference play, going 2-1 against Ottawa and sweeping Geneseo 3-0 after winning over the Maple Leafs 15-4 on Thursday. Rochelle is 7-4 overall, and Albers said he believes his team is capable of making runs at both the conference and regional championships.

“Our offense came alive during our last game against Geneseo and our defense is playing much better after we struggled earlier in the season,” Albers said. “It’s nice to see everything come together and hopefully we can become a championships team. We want to win our games against LaSalle-Peru and Sterling and we’re hoping to get a good regional seed.”

Albers and his older brother Matt played on the same T-ball squad through Rochelle Little League many years ago, and both boys began playing baseball after their father Brian bought each of them gloves to use. Albers was around 4 years old at the time, and although he said football was his favorite sport growing up, he has since come around to baseball as the game he enjoys playing most.

“My dad played baseball as a kid and he told us that we should play too,” Albers said. “He told us that he had a lot of fun playing and he wanted us to enjoy the game as much as he did when he got older. I enjoy having fun, being with my teammates and I like to hit the ball… I hit my first home run on the [Rochelle Little League] Major League field and I threw my first perfect game there too.”

Albers looks to do damage whenever he approaches the plate, unlike his older brother Matt who he said tends to be more patient at the dish. While Albers said he likely won’t see time on the pitcher’s mound this season, he’s comfortable playing in the field because of the talent around him and the trust he has in his teammates.

“I’m not a passive hitter,” Albers said. “I like to attack the ball and go right after it. Matt like to get deep into the count and I really just want to crank the ball off somebody… We have a lot of solid pitchers right now and Hayden [Jones] is playing really well at first base so my role will likely be as the designated hitter or in the field wherever coach needs me.”

2018 may be Albers’ only year on the Rochelle varsity team, but the senior said he plans to continue his baseball career at Kishwaukee College next season. He said he enjoys learning about history in school, and his favorite part of the day is lunchtime. Albers said he also had an offer to play football at Augustana College, where his older brother Matt currently plays.

“I thought that going to Kishwaukee and getting my general education classes out of the way would be a lot easler for me,” Albers said.