Hill's topper

John Ruettiger finds a way to get on base.

He proceeds to steal second and scores easily on the type of single where most runners are held at third.

Or, he doesn't steal second but scores in a breeze from first on a ball into the gap. What should have been a close play at the plate develops into no play at all.

Ruettiger gets there quicker.

Same thing when he patrols center field. He runs down gap shots that are ticketed for extra bases.

And, when Joliet Catholic Academy is involved in its biggest games, chances are Ruettiger will be on the mound, the competitive juices flowing.

There is little the senior left-hander cannot do on the baseball diamond. And for the exclamation point, he makes it all look so easy.

"His instincts are so good, and his running looks effortless," Hilltoppers coach Jared Voss said. "I've coached fast guys in the past who looked like they were maxing out. Johnny looks like he's going at about 80-percent effort, but in reality, he is as fast as anyone."

Today, he speeds to the summit as he is named MVP of the Herald News Baseball All-Area Team.

Last fall, Ruettiger shined on the football field. He was the offensive MVP of the Herald News all-area team after quarterbacking JCA to the Class 6A state championship.

He was every bit the leader in football that he is in baseball. He loves playing both sports. But there never was a doubt about his future ambitions.

He is a baseball player, and his plan, eventually, is to play professionally.

It may happen sooner rather than later. The Texas Rangers selected him in the 35th round of the recent amateur free-agent draft, and there is a chance they will sign him later this summer.

That is unlikely, however. Ruettiger has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Arizona State University on a baseball scholarship, and he welcomes the opportunity to play in the Tempe sunshine.

"I thought I would be drafted, but I let it be known before the draft that I wanted to go to Arizona State," Ruettiger said. "Texas has guys out watching me play with my summer team, to see if I'm worth the amount of money that I need to convince me to sign with them. If not, I'll go to Arizona State.

"My eventual goal is to play pro ball. But right now, I'd say it's heavily in favor of Arizona State, with the possibility I might sign with Texas."

Ruettiger has been to the Arizona State campus three times. To say he has fallen in love would be an understatement.

"It's 70 in the winter. It's unbelievable out there," he said.

Sun Devils coach Pat Murphy, who formerly coached at Notre Dame, has kept in contact with Ruettiger, who is part of what is billed as a strong recruiting class. They spoke as recently as a week ago.

"Their plan is that I will be the center fielder and leadoff man as a freshman, as long as I show I can handle it," Ruettiger said. "I'm facing kids this summer who are going Division I. Hopefully that will help me get ready."

Ruettiger, 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds, has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40, 6.4 in the 60.

He gets from here to there in a hurry.

He also is left-handed, so he has that extra step toward first base.

This season, in 161 trips to the plate, he reached base 90 times -- 60 hits, 25 walks, 5 hit by pitches. And that does not include the times he reached on errors, perhaps the result of fielders hurrying because they knew who was running.

His batting average was .472, his on-base percentage .559. He struck out 6 times all season, and he stole 19 bases. Hitting in the 2-hole, he drove in a very respectable 39 runs in JCA's 40 games.

And once he reaches base, he does not often die there. He scored 60 runs, No. 1 in the area.

Part of the excessive run total was attributable to having hitting machine Nick Ratajczak, who led the area with 57 RBIs, and designated hitter Steve Cservenyak, who drove in 50, coming up behind him. But Ruettiger's instincts and wheels made run production a two-way street.

"I have gotten very lucky to coach a lot of great players," Voss said. "I've had Mark Sopko, Mike Stalowy, Joe Benson, and I think John is right up there with all those guys.

"I can't think that anyone will come along who is much better than him. He hurts you in so many different ways."

As a pitcher, Ruettiger finished 9-2 with 2 saves and a 2.42 ERA. He worked 75 1/3 innings, allowing 64 hits and 25 walks while striking out 59.

"We called on John to pitch the tough games," Voss said. "Unfortunately he lost his last game (5-1 to Rock Falls in the Class 3A semifinals). Of course, if you had told me before that game that he would give up five hits and strike out 10, I would have said, 'that's a winner.' "

"He was in the big games all season. He beat the 4A champion, Prairie Ridge."

There may be a little pitching in Ruettiger's future at Arizona State, but immediately, he will concentrate on being the best center fielder and leadoff man he can be.

"Coach Voss told me when I came to Joliet Catholic that for my whole life I'll be a 1- or 2-hitter, and that's the approach I've been taking," Ruettiger said. "At Arizona State, I'll be the 1-hitter and will have to set the table."

Ruettiger sports the classic stroke of a top-of-the-lineup guy. His 2008 resume includes 16 doubles, 4 triples and a modest 2 home runs. He could change his swing and try to go deep more often, but that's not him. The idea is to make solid contact and use his speed to increase the pressure on the defense.

"I always swing like there's an 0-0 count until there's two strikes, then I have to make contact," Ruettiger said.

A power surge may yet happen, anyway.

"I'd like to add a little muscle, play in college at 195 or 200," he said. "The facilities out there at Arizona State are top of the line and they're going to teach me the right way to add some weight."

A good student who for now is thinking he may major in journalism, Ruettiger said he would not change a thing about his high school years. And, he could not have played on a more ideal team for his final spring as a Hilltopper.

Everyone in the starting lineup hit above .300, with Ratajczak (.479), Ruettiger (.472) and catcher Mike Nelson (.424) leading the way. Cservenyak was the top home run hitter with 4. There are individuals in high school baseball who hit as many homers as JCA (33-7) managed as a team.

"Except for Cservenyak, we had a lineup full of 2-hitters," Voss said.

But home runs don't guarantee success. Reuttiger said the formula that worked so well for JCA last fall in football was applicable on the diamond this spring.

"Both the football and baseball teams were close," he said. "That's a big part of the success both teams had. The chemistry is what kept it going.

"We had a very talented group this baseball season. It was awesome to play on this team. Every guy went out and played hard every day, 1 through 9. We went out on top (winning the 3A third-place game). There's not a better way."

Ratajczak has another year at JCA, but Ruettiger could not have picked a more ideal 3-hitter to follow him in the order. "Nick is one of the best hitters I have ever played with," he said. "He's definitely a Division I kid."

It did not happen often, but as with any team, there were times when leaders needed to step forward. That role belonged to Ruettiger and senior third baseman Nate Minarich.

"John (Ruettiger) is a quiet leader, but if you're not playing to the best of your abilities, you would not want to get that glare from him," Voss said.

"When someone on the team needed to be talked to by another player, Nate (Minarich) and I did it," Ruettiger said. "Nate is a great leader."

Voss offered some tough love during Ruettiger's sophomore and junior years, and Ruettiger accepted the challenge.

"My sophomore and junior years, Coach Voss would get all over me at practice about being mentally tough," he said. "He backed off this year; I understood what he meant to get across.

"He is an unbelievable coach. He sets the example for how to be mentally tough. Coach (Dan) Sharp was unbelievable in football, too."

Ruettiger said he tried patterning himself after former JCA football and baseball standout Bill McKeon, who is playing football at Saint Xavier. A wise decision that was. In fact, Ruettiger was McKeon's understudy at quarterback in the fall of 2005, and the two were baseball teammates the following spring.

"Bill McKeon was my role model," Ruettiger said. "He had a good head on his shoulders, and he did things the right way."

Ruettiger grew up in the St. Pat's neighborhood and attended St. Patrick's School. His family moved to the far east side of Joliet, near New Lenox, when he was entering fifth grade, but he continued to attend St. Pat's.

Sports always were important, as they are with most of the many Ruettigers.

"I played basketball in grade school, but I wanted to concentrate on football and baseball at JCA," he said. "I'm going to miss football, but I'll be so locked in to baseball (at Arizona State) that I won't really have time to miss football."

John's uncle Dan Ruettiger, of course, was the subject of the movie Rudy.

"The movie was an inspiration growing up," he said. "Yeah, I've seen it quite a few times."

Likewise, the JCA family, and the entire Joliet area, has been blessed to watch this "Rudy" do his thing. He has been an inspiration in his own right, and he boasts that impeccable sense of timing.

"Johnny always saved his best performances for the playoff games and biggest games, in baseball and football," Voss said. "He is a competitor."

One who gets where he is going in a hurry.