Hibbitts transitions from basketball to baseball in less than a week
On March 17, Hudsonville junior Blake Hibbitts played in men’s basketball’s 89-79 National Invitation Tournament first round game. Seven days later, he was on the mound, starting for the baseball team against Michigan State.
“I feel fine physically,” Hibbitts said. “My whole life I’ve been playing multiple sports so this is nothing new to me.”
Hibbitts pitched 1.2 innings and gave up three runs and four hits in CMU’s 8-3 loss, but Baseball Head Coach Steve Jaksa said Hibbitts was on a pitch count of 30, regardless of what was going on. He said he hopes Hibbitts throws 45 pitches in his next outing.
“Right now, it’s just about getting my arm in shape,” Hibbitts said. “Playing basketball definitely took some time away from that, so I’m trying to get my arm in shape to where I will be able to throw enough pitches to go deep.”
Hibbitts played his last basketball game of 2015 on March 10, which resulted in being away from baseball an extra week this season after men’s basketball qualified for postseason play.
“Now he gets into a regular baseball pattern,” Jaksa said. “He’s going to lift like a pitcher should be lifting. He’s going to run like a pitcher should be running. He’s going to do his throwing program every day. He couldn’t do that when he was playing the other sport.”
Hibbitts, who is a junior on the basketball team but a sophomore on the baseball team, said he needs to put the emotions of the basketball season behind him.
“We lost in the tournament, so that kind of sucks, but you have to get your head right and get right back to work because they’re already midseason,” Hibbitts said. “I can’t come in and still be down about how basketball ended, I’ve just got to work hard and try and help this team.”
Men’s basketball Head Coach Keno Davis said Hibbitts’work ethic and attitude are what makes him able to be a dual-sport varsity athlete.
“It’s quite amazing,” Davis said. “If anybody can handle that, it’s Blake Hibbitts. I look forward to following his baseball progress almost as much as I’ll follow his basketball progress.”
