Alex Urbas

The Bulldogs feature seven players hitting .333 or higher, including starters Alex Urbas, a freshman catcher at .538, and freshman infielder Mike Hurt at .417.
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Urbas leads the team with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Alex Urbas *
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Alex Urbas

The Cardinals were guilty of six errors, failed to cover a base four times and saw the visitors swipe seven bases, including three by Tyler Casson and two by freshman catcher Alex Urbas.
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The Bullets threatened to end it on the 10-run rule with four in the fifth, with Urbas adding another double and Harris and Schultz delivering singles.

Heading the Class A roster are four players from Class A supersectional qualifier Williamsville, which finished fourth in last year's Class A State Tournament: senior pitcher David Miller, senior catcher Alex Urbas and senior infielders Clint Jeffers and Greg VanLeer.
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Miller, Urbas and Jeffers played in last year's Classic.

WILLIAMSVILLE - Alex Urbas was Williamsville High School's fixture behind home plate the past four baseball seasons.

It's hard to imagine the Bullets without Urbas as catcher, even though the recent Williamsville graduate believes the start of his career could've been different.

"We had a senior catcher, but he dropped a 25-pound weight on his foot," Urbas recalled of the days leading up to his freshman season."He wasn't able to start the first game, so I started and just never looked back from there.

"It's just the way things worked out."

But given Urbas' performance on the field, a lucky break would seem to be the last thing he'd need to get into the Bullets' lineup and become a catalyst for one of the area's most successful Class A programs.It's more a case of the harder he works, the luckier he gets.
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Urbas admits that his size had something to do with that work ethic.Now 5 feet 8 and 170 pounds, he said he's had to outwork the competition in order to compensate for his diminutive dimensions.

"I've always had a chip on my shoulder, wanting to prove something since I'm so small as a catcher," said Urbas, who also quarterbacked the Bullets' football team."College scouts like for the big, tall, 6-3 guy who can really throw it.

"I kind of want to prove them wrong a little bit."

Urbas didn't have to prove anything to Steve Torricelli, the coach at Springfield College in Illinois.Urbas will play for the Bulldogs next season, even though it could be at a position other than catcher.

But if there was any doubt, Urbas proved himself again this season.He batted .473 to lead the Bullets in hitting for the fourth straight year.He struck out just six times in 125 trips to the plate, and he committed only one error.

The Bullets fell one win short of making their second straight Elite Eight appearance, falling to Columbia in the Sauget Supersectional to finish 31-6.But Urbas' performance, evidenced by the tangible statistics and his intangible leadership qualities, earned him the title of Honorary Captain for the State Journal-Register Class A All-Area Baseball Team.

Rochester coach Matt Carlson, like most Sangamo Conference coaches, was glad to see Urbas and several other key Williamsville seniors finally receive their high school diplomas.
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The coach said it was evident late in the regular season, when Urbas had to sit out a few games because of a hand injury.

"He doesn't seem like a real vocal kid," Carlson said of Urbas.
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"I watched them a couple of games after Alex got hurt, and without him behind the plate, it seemed like they were a different team.That's the biggest thing I can say about him.There wasn't another kid in the area like that."

Furlow said his confidence in Urbas was such that he allowed the senior to call most of the pitches during a game, a chore usually handled by a coach at the high school level.Urbas said it was a bigger responsibility this season because the Bullets no longer had Collin Brennan, who was a dominant pitcher for the 2005 fourth-place state tournament team.
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"We had to work a little harder; it was more challenging," Urbas said of working with his pitchers.
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"I was always confident with Alex," Miller said.
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So Urbas has tried to compensate.

"I've worked on my footwork, trying to speed up everything," he said.
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Urbas is spending this summer playing for the Rochester American Legion team, then it'll be on to SCI.He's hoping to later transfer to a four-year school and continue his baseball career.If professional ball doesn't pan out, Urbas should be successful in the real world.He ranked sixth academically in his class.

But looking back at his high school career, Urbas said the accomplishments - individual and team - surpassed his expectations.

"I think I got more out of it than I thought I would," Urbas said.

Alex Urbas

Williamsville High School is pleased to announce that senior Alex Urbas has been selected as the September Student of the Month.Alex was selected by senior class sponsors based on academic performance, extra curricular participation and personal traits.Alex will receive a $100 savings bond from the Williamsville State Bank.He will also be eligible for Student of the Year.

Alex is ranked fifth in his class with a weighted GPA of 4.87.He is a high honor roll student and is a member of National Society of High School Scholars, National Honor Roll and Who's Who Among American High School Students.Alex is a member of National Honor Society, Youth and Government, Theatre, and Yearbook Staff.He is running for Lieutenant Governor of Youth and Government.He was a member of the homecoming court for three years.

Alex has been a member of the football and baseball teams for four years.He was named as the State Journal Register Male Scholar Athlete in October of 2005.He received Prairie State All-Conference honors for three years, Sangamon Conference All Conference honors two years, and the batting champion award his freshman, sophomore and junior years.Alex's baseball team received fourth place in the IHSA State tournament in May of 2005.As a result, the Illinois High School Coaches Association named Alex to the Class A 2005 All-State Team, and the Chicano Tribune named him to the All-State Honorable Mention team as a catcher.Alex is a three year varsity starter for the Bullets football team.He was the captain his senior year.He was named to the Prairie Conference second team as a junior.

Alex has volunteered to serve as an umpire for Fairview Youth Athletic Association.He has also volunteered to serve as the assistant technical director for the junior high school musical, high school Madrigal dinner, and Fine Arts Chorus Concert.