Carmel Transfer at Home at Crystal Lake South

Baseball seems to come easy to shortstop Chris Hauser. Even at eight years old, he was playing up at the 10-year-old level for the Wauconda Junior Bulldogs. Even as a sophomore at Carmel High School in Mundelein, he earned a promotion to the varsity for that heralded program.

"It came naturally to me,'' Hauser said. "I always had a pretty good arm."

A year ago, Hauser's family moved to Crystal Lake, and that meant Carmel was too far away. He would play his favorite sport for the Crystal Lake South Gators.

"It's almost like Chris has been attending CLS for four years,'' said CLS coach Brian Bogda. "I feel as if I have known him that long. Right away Chris and I connected and I knew he would be a special player. "

In his first season as a Gators player, Hauser hit a crisp .360 with four homers and 20 RBIs. This season, he's up to .408 with another homer and 15 runs scored. All this success at the plate and in the field has translated into a baseball scholarship to St. Joseph of Indiana.

"I had some friends go there,'' Hauser said. "So they called me in the summer and I went on a visit."

In the meantime, Hauser's baseball life seems in order. He's the starting shortstop for South and bats cleanup.

"I played third base at Carmel,'' he said. "They asked me to play shortstop at South. I love it. It's the most action in the infield. I get outfied cuts and get to dive for balls."

Bodga likes the way Hauser blended right in at his new school.

"He has stepped into the starting role at shortstop role as a junior without any problems at all,'' Bodga said. "What I like about Chris the most is his ability to lead and motivate. He is very tough on himself at times, but I really like how he encourages his teammates."

Of course there have been some setbacks. Last summer, he broke his thumb and could only sit and watch Summer League games.

"He continued to come to summer games,'' Bogda said. "To watch games and more importantly to mentor junior infielders Jordan Van Dyck and Tyler Salm."

Hauser did play football and loves playing basketball with his friends, but he's firmly a fan of baseball first.

"I've been playing it as long as I can remember,'' Hauser said. "I would be playing with my grandpa in my yard. I just love the game. I love to hit. I don't mind the added pressure. It's a game where I can show off my individual skills.'

The Gators are off to a strong start. Hauser believes in his South team.

"We have a ton of potential,'' he said. "And we are starting to reach our peak. I think we can make an impact."

Recap: South (13-4) swept a pair of games from two different teams on Saturday. In the 2-1 win over Johnsburg, no-hit pitcher Nick Martin again had a strong outing. In winning his fourth game of the season, Martin struck out 10. The winning run came on a suicide squeeze bunt from Tyler Salm. Max Meitzler had a pair of hits.

In the nightcap, a pair of four-run innings were key in an 8-1 rout of Woodstock North. Meitzler had two RBI's. Also helping the cause were two doubles off the bat of Chris Morrison. Catcher Dom Winiecke cracked a homer and Ryan Price pitched the first six innings and earned the win.

Free camp: Mark your calendars for May 9. That's free clinic day with the Gators. The site is the CLS varsity field. Any player (6 to 13 years old) can attend. Just bring your glove and bat.