This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Christian High School's Eli Dilday Swings Way Through Season

Freshman slugger came into the week with a .500 batting average and a .880 slugging percentage

There’s just something about watching a left-handed slugger swing the bat that just captivates baseball fans.

No one can really explain it, but something about a lefty swinging the bat just always looks so much more pleasing than it does when a righty takes his hacks.

Plain and simply put, a left-handed slugger’s swing is a thing of beauty.

Find out what's happening in O'Fallonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And right now, there’s a ninth grade hitting artist named Eli Dilday doing some beautiful work for the varsity baseball team, that has local baseball fans already extolling his virtues.

"I try not to get caught up in the talk too much," Dilday said, after a 1-4 day at the plate against St. Francis Borgia last Monday. "I just try to hit the ball inside-out and make contact. So far, it’s been going pretty good."

Find out what's happening in O'Fallonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Calling Dilday "pretty good" might be the understatement of the season.

His performance and the statistics say the Christian High School freshman shortstop has been just sensational so far this season.

Coming into this week, Dilday was hitting .500 for the Eagles, with 14 hits in 28 at-bats. He also had an .880 slugging percentage, with one home run, and 13 RBIs, in Christian’s first 11 games of the season.

"I do a lot of off-season training," Dilday said. "And instead of always looking for the big shot every time, I try to make contact and put it in play for the team."

One time when Dilday did go for the big shot was back on March 30, in a game against Lutheran St. Charles High.

With his team down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Dilday stepped to the plate looking to put a charge into his team.

And on the second pitch he saw, he put a charge into the baseball, launching one of the longest home runs ever hit at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

Dilday’s first high school home run was estimated at 420-feet, sailing completely out of the ballpark, and landing on one of the youth league fields at the behind the stadium.

"I was really happy when I hit it," Dilday said. "I like hittin’ ‘em deep. And I knew I got that one good. I thought I could at least get a triple out of it. Then I looked up and saw it go in the trees and I just smiled."

No one in the stadium could believe what they’d just seen off the bat of a freshman. Even the Lutheran High School fans stood and applauded such a remarkable blast by the ninth grader.

"The guys were all high-fivin’ me and hugging me," Dilday said. "It was pretty cool."

This past Tuesday, Dilday launched another moonshot at T.R. Hughes, in a 13-3 win over Louisiana High School.

And although Eagle fans are hopeful that Dilday might blast off a few more times this season, the mild-mannered Christian High School superman is hoping the team might pick up a few more wins as it gets closer to district playoff time next month.

With the Tuesday win over Louisiana, and an 11-1 win over Principia High on Thursday, the Eagles are now 7-6 on the season. And Dilday said that it’s because of his teammates, not just him, that Christian High is back over the .500 mark this season.

"We were making a lot of mental mistakes early in the season," Dilday said, "But we’re playing better now. As long as we play like we can and play as a team, I think we’ll win a lot of games."

Christian High will be back in action at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 18, when it travels to Ladue to take on highly-ranked John Burroughs High, which is 8-1 this season.

The Eagles’ next home game, will be back at T.R. Hughes Ballpark, on Wednesday, April 20, against Silex High School at 5 p.m. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from O'Fallon