LP_061319

38 | June 13, 2019 | the lockport legend sports
lockportlegend.com
LTHS grad re-writes record books at North Central
Quade sets one
single-season, five
career program
records
Max Lapthorne, Editor
The most memorable
hit of Jeremy Quade’s
baseball career probably
should not have been a hit
at all.
In his penultimate game
at North Central College
on May 19, the Lockport
native dug into the batter’s
box in the top of the seventh
inning having compiled
245 hits during his
collegiate career, tied for
the most in program history.
He got a changeup in
the zone — a pitch Quade
had done plenty of damage
with in his career — but
the pitch had its desired
effect with Quade starting
his swing a fraction of a
second too early and popping
the ball high into left
field.
But what should have
been an easy putout turned
into a record-breaking
hit as Quade’s big swing
and some swirling winds
teamed up to trick the
Webster University outfielders,
and the ball fell to
the turf in left-center field
for his 246th hit as a Cardinal.
“I was a little angry at
first because of the way
it happened, but I [remembered]
how many
times I hit a ball hard
right at somebody and it
was caught, so I was able
to take a deep breath and
enjoy the moment, realize
what just happened and
how special it is,” Quade
said.
Although the historic hit
was not a majestic home
Lockport Township graduate Jeremy Quade (left) is the all-time career leader in hits,
stolen bases, at-bats, games played and runs scored at North Central College.
Steve Woltmann/North Central College
run or frozen rope, it was
perhaps more apropos,
because despite flinging
his bat in frustration after
initially making contact,
Quade — as he always
did — hustled down the
line and ended up with a
double on the play. North
Central coach Ed Mathey’s
first reaction when the record-setting
blooper fell
to the grass was to crack a
smile, because he knew it
was probably not how his
senior center fielder imagined
that moment playing
out.
“In his mind, it’s probably
not the glorious home
run or the line drive into
right-center field, but it’s
one he’s always going to
remember [and] so will
I,” Mathey said. “... For
the most part, Jeremy approached
the game to play
hard each and every day.
That’s not an easy thing to
do at any level.”
Quade’s collegiate career
came to a close later
that day in the Whitewater
Regional Championship,
but he will not be soon
forgotten around the North
Central baseball complex
as he left as the career
leader in runs, games
played, stolen bases and
at-bats while also breaking
the single-season record
for at-bats. In addition to
his individual exploits,
Quade helped the Cardinals
to four consecutive
Collegiate Conference
of Illinois and Wisconsin
titles, was part of four
NCAA regional qualifying
teams and led his team to
a third-place finish at the
Division III College World
Series his sophomore year.
“It’s a Division III
school, but our athletic
program is outstanding,”
Quade said of North Central.
“The opportunities
at Lockport that I was
able to take advantage of,
whether that be classroom
stuff, weight room stuff,
leadership stuff, just kind
of the whole package that
Lockport offered me, and
the people that were there
prepared me to take advantage
of the opportunities at
North Central.”
One of the opportunities
Quade had at LTHS most
pivotal to his success at
North Central was playing
quarterback for the Porters
football team. His time on
the gridiron helped finetune
his leadership skills,
and the overall mentality
he had during football
games translated to the
diamond as well.
“With baseball, they say
you only play or are focused
for like 22 minutes
out of three hours,” Quade
said. “For those 22 minutes,
you have to have a
football mentality. Hustle
out of the box, fighting
for the extra 90 feet. Just
like in football, you’re always
fighting for that extra
yard.”
When recruiting Quade,
Mathey was enticed by
Quade’s work on the football
field, but not only
because it showcased his
leadership and focus.
“It shows a lot of different
things from a leadership
standpoint, from
an attention-to-detail
standpoint and [about]
his decision-making ability,”
Mathey said. “That’s
part of the game of baseball
that I don’t think gets
looked at enough, is the
ability to make good decisions
when you’re on the
field.”
One of the moments
that stands out most to
Mathey when it comes to
Quade is an at-bat that he
did not even take. Late
this past season — as
Quade was in pursuit of
the all-time hits record
— Mathey and his coaching
staff were hoping to
get an at-bat for one of
Quade’s teammates who
had battled several shoulder
injuries throughout
his career and worked to
rehab the injury despite
the odds being against
him being able to play
again.
The game was well in
hand in the eighth inning,
and the coaching staff
was planning to give him
the at-bat in the designated
hitter spot, but given
where the Cardinals were
in the order, there was no
guarantee that spot would
come up before the game
ended. Quade overheard
this conversation between
Mathey and his coaching
staff as he headed to the
on-deck circle and immediately
offered to give up
his at-bat.
“Here is a guy who has
been in the lineup a lot,
and I know he’s aware of
the hit record and everything
else and he’s willing
to do that for a teammate,”
Mathey said.
Quade recently finished
up his degree in
sports management and
communication and accepted
a business education
teaching position at
a high school in Indiana
where his first base coach
at North Central College
was recently named athletic
director. Quade plans
to coach baseball and
football and may do some
strength and conditioning
work as well.
“I’m really excited about
this opportunity that I have
with that teaching position
and the coaching,”
he said. “I never thought
about teaching until this
year, but I think it’s a good
fit for me and I think it still
allows me to work toward
my career goals.”
Quade credits his family
and those involved in
the baseball programs at
LTHS and North Central
for getting him to where he
is today. Going forward, he
plans to continue playing
baseball with a semi-pro
collegiate summer league
team called the Lombard
Orioles, and would be
open to playing professionally,
but if that opportunity
does not come, he
is satisfied with how his
baseball career has played
out — especially now that
he has two more hits than
anyone else to ever put on
a Cardinals uniform.
“As I started to realize
I was getting close, it was
one thing that I personally
was wanting to achieve
that kind of put the icing
on the cake for my senior
year having it be a good
year overall, that was the
last record I was really
chasing,” Quade said.