Skyhawk Baseball | Nico Zych - 10

2012: Earned a spot on the OVC All-Freshman squad, starting in 43 of his 44 games on the left side of the infield…Hit .277 in 159 at-bats, including a .432 clip (16-for-37) against left-handed pitchers…Was the most dangerous with the bases loaded (5-for-7, .714 batting average) and as the leadoff man in an inning (16-for-40, .400)…Had 12 multi-hit performances, the second-highest total on the team…Tallied a 4-for-4 effort at the plate at Indiana State on March 10 and also had five 3-hit games to his credit…Recorded six multi-hit games in a span of nine games from April 7-24, five of which came in OVC play…Had four multi-RBI games, three of which came against OVC competition (Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky)…Scored twice against Butler on Feb. 25 and at Indiana State on March 10…Also made four appearances out of the bullpen, producing three shutout appearances while fanning five batters in three total innings.

BEFORE UTM: Prepped at St. Rita of Cascia High School, who sported a 29-6 record in 2011, winning its regional championship…A dominant member of the Chicago Catholic League, the Mustangs were coming off back-to-back state runner-up appearances and have established themselves as the winningest program in the state of Illinois since 2004…As one of four Division-I commitments on his team, he was a 2011 Rawlings Central Region All-American Honorable Mention selection…Playing primarily on the left side of the infield and outfield, he hit .345 with three homers and 31 RBI while scoring 26 runs…On the mound, he posted a 2-1 record to go along with four saves…Put together a miniscule 1.52 ERA in 27.2 innings, allowing 24 hits and tallying a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio…At the plate, his best game this past season came on April 13 against Bishop McNamara when he went 3-for-3 with a home run and double, driving in four runs…In the team's sectional semifinal against Oak Park-River Forest, he also contributed with an RBI single…Along with being a member on St. Rita's 2010 team that went 32-10 and made it all the way to the state championship game, he helped lead the Mustangs to the 2009 summer state title.

PERSONAL: Born on June 7, 1993…Son of Don and Deb Zych…Has two siblings, Tony and Kailey… Family has an athletic background, as his father played collegiate football at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., while his brother earned a spot on the All-Big East team as a closer on the University of Louisville's baseball team and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 2011 MLB Draft…Majoring in communications.