Athlete of the Week: Sage Hill’s Pelc plays for Grandpa Jack

Edward Pelc has “JP39” written near the bottom of his cleats. The initials and number remind him of whom he dedicated the Sage Hill School baseball season to, his grandfather, Jack Pelc.

Grandpa Jack always used to visit his grandsons, Edward and Jack, in Huntington Beach during the summer. He followed their Little League Baseball teams, never caring about who won or lost, but always making sure that his two grandsons had fun.

This was supposed to be the season Grandpa Jack saw Edward and Jack play on the same team for the first time. Jack G. Pelc passed away on Jan. 20, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The reason why Edward has “JP39” on his cleats is because that’s what Grandpa Jack had on his Illinois license plate. The “39” is for the year he was born, in 1939. He was 76 when he died.

Grandpa Jack owned a gas station in Belleville, Ill., and that must be the reason Edward never seems to run out of gas on the field.

Edward is off to a blazing start as a freshman with the Lightning. He is batting .428 with 10 runs, nine walks, five runs batted in and five stolen bases.

Sage Hill Coach Dominic Campeau calls Edward his spark plug, and he’s ignited the Lightning to one of the Orange County Division championship games in the Newport Elks Tournament. Sage Hill (6-1) plays at La Habra Whittier Christian (4-1) in the final on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Edward’s play through the first seven games has surprised Campeau.

“I knew he was very talented from the beginning, but he played football, so I didn’t really have a chance to see him,” Campeau said. “Same thing in the summer, I had him a little bit, but he was also doing [then-coach Abram] Booty’s [football] camp. I just saw him once in a while. I knew he was fast. I knew he had a good arm. He was an athlete. I just didn’t expect him to pick up on everything the first couple of weeks of camp, and then be able to win a starting job.”

Edward has also already taken his older brother’s spot in the lineup.

Jack, a junior, used to lead off. Now, he’s batting second, behind Edward. The two changed spots at the start of the tournament last week.

“He didn’t say anything to me at that point,” Edward said, when asked how his brother responded to the switch.

Jack didn’t have much time to react. Campeau made the decision right before the opener in the tournament, and after Edward reached base four times in six plate appearances, there was nothing any one could say.

Edward went three for five with two RBIs, a triple, a walk, three runs and one stolen base, as the Lightning routed host Bolsa Grande, 16-1.

Having the Pelc brothers bat 1-2 gives the Lightning two players who can wreak havoc on the base pads. They have speed, making it uncomfortable for the pitcher when they have to worry about Edward and Jack, instead of Sage Hill’s two big hitters, Cole Tait and Conner Bock, a senior bound for UC Berkeley.

Edward is a patient hitter, evident from his nine walks already. Jack has experience, having started last year, when Sage Hill claimed an undefeated Academy League title and reached the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.

The two are both left-handed, and Edward plays in right field and Jack in center field. They cover a lot of ground.

Sometimes teammates and coaches confuse the two. One assistant coach who doesn’t is Mark Cresse, the former bullpen catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cresse is in his first year with the Lightning and the 64-year-old knows all the players by their first names. He used to throw batting practice for the Dodgers for 25 years, and now he’s feeding the pitching machine to a bunch of teenagers.

“I call him my general,” Campeau said of Cresse. “He calls me on a Sunday and says, ‘What do you want to do tomorrow?’ I say, ‘I’d love to work on this and that,’ and he comes up with a practice plan. He’s super organized. He’s just amazing. It’s amazing what he’s been able to bring here, his experience, everything that he knows, and the kids listen to him because they’re aware that he knows his stuff.”

Edward and Jack said they love having Cresse around. Whether it’s about fielding the ball or hitting it, like trusting their hands and using their legs more, they pay close attention to whatever Cresse says.

“Attaboy, Eddy!” Cresse said after Edward hit a line drive.

“That’s your swing, Jack!” Cresse said after Jack ripped the ball toward the right-field line.

Cresse almost didn’t get to coach one of the Pelcs this season.

Edward said he thought about attending Huntington Beach High, which has one of the top baseball programs in the country. The Oilers are No. 4 in the USA Today poll. The Pelcs live in Huntington Beach, but his parents, Patricia and Daryl, and brother convinced Edward to go to Sage Hill, one of the top academic private schools in the nation.

“I really wanted to be with my brother. That was a big reason,” Edward said for deciding on Sage Hill. “The academics here are just like amazing. This campus, it looks like a college campus.

“It’s a different atmosphere for [my friends playing at Huntington Beach], obviously. [Division] 1 versus whatever division we’re in [for baseball]. They give me [a hard time] sometimes about how I’m in a much lower division than they are, but it’s all in fun. The only time they ever talk about Sage Hill is when they’re riding [Highway] 73 going to a game.”

The one person Edward wanted to come see him play was his grandpa.

No. 4 and No. 2 are the jersey numbers Edward and Jack wear. Edward chose No. 4 to be close to his brother’s number. Grandpa Jack would’ve liked the gesture.

Whenever Edward misses Grandpa Jack, all he does is look down at his cleats. He does it whenever he goes up to hit.

“He loved baseball. He loved following our baseball [teams],” Edward said. “I play for him. That’s what keeps me going.”

—

Edward Pelc

Born: June 30, 2001

Hometown: Huntington Beach

Height: 5-foot-9

Weight: 165 pounds

Sport: Baseball

Year: Freshman

Coach: Dominic Campeau

Favorite food: Cheeseburger

Favorite movie: “Entourage”

Favorite athletic moment: “Winning District [with Ocean View Little League] … two years ago.”

Week in review: Pelc went six for 10 with three runs batted in, four walks and six runs, leading the Lightning to three wins last week.