Providence’s Bryce Barnett is known for his powerful right arm. The junior right-hander is verbally committed to Arizona State as a pitcher.
But Barnett also is dangerous with the bat, which he proved Thursday against Homewood-Flossmoor.
Barnett, a right-handed hitter, went 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs to lead the host Celtics to a 10-5 win in a Class 4A Providence Regional semifinal.
Fifth-seeded Providence (20-14) will play at 11 a.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Sandburg (24-6) in the regional championship game.
Barnett confirmed he doesn’t spend nearly as much time fine-tuning his hitting as he does his pitching.
“I go up there and try to get good pitches to hit and put the ball in play,” Barnett said. “I don’t practice hitting every day. I love to pitch. I try to help the team any way I can.”
For half of the season, Barnett’s contributions were limited to the mound. With the Celtics scuffling at the plate, though, Barnett was given an opportunity for at-bats.
“We were looking for somebody to swing the bat midway through the season and he showed that he could do it,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “He had a couple of big hits (Thursday).”
Barnett’s two-run single in the fifth inning gave the Celtics a 5-1 lead. He added an RBI single in the sixth to extend the lead to 9-1.
Fellow Arizona State recruit Alex Helmin went 2-for-4.
Catcher Nick Jones, who went 3-for-4, isn’t surprised by Barnett’s ability to swing the bat.
“Bryce gets big-time hits,” Jones said. “That’s why we call him ‘Big Time.’ He’s a heck of an athlete.”
Barnett will put his bat away Saturday and concentrate on taming Sandburg’s powerful lineup.
Smith acknowledged it was a bit of a risk to not pitch Barnett against H-F (19-15).
“Their first four hitters are as good as we’ve seen,” Smith said. “But I have confidence in our other pitchers. It was a staff decision.
“We felt going this way gave us the best chance at winning a regional championship.”
Smith handed the ball Thursday to 6-foot-8 right-hander Ethan Petric, who surrendered one run on four hits over four innings.
His only mistake was to Tre’ Hondras, who hit a solo homer in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
Jacob Hilty delivered two innings of hitless relief for Providence before two other relievers allowed four runs in the seventh.
Zaid Walker had a two-run double, Jacob Schroeder went 2-for-2 with a walk and Tyrone Simpson added a sacrifice fly for 12th-seeded H-F.
The Vikings didn’t do themselves any favors by surrendering 13 hits and four walks and committing two costly errors.
“Walks and errors, that’s been the story of the season,” H-F coach Todd Sippel said. “Providence played good defense and they started hitting the ball in the fourth inning.”