May 10, 2007 - 06:09:15 CDT
We don't have the luxury of scripting our lives.But even given that opportunity, Jon Hausauer admits he'd have a tough time improving on his junior year at Bismarck High.
Last fall he began the season sharing time at tailback and ran for 1,014 yards as the Demons reached the football semifinals.
Over the winter Hausauer won the state Class A160-pound title as BHSwon the state dual wrestling championship and finished second in the tournament.
The baseball portion of the script remains in progress, but early returns are eye-popping. Hausauer, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound right-hander, is 4-0 with four complete games in his first four starts. He's given up one run - unearned - for an 0.00 ERA.
"It's gone well, really well," Hausauer said as he looked back over the past eight months. "Iguess it would be nice to play Fargo South again. That (a 34-0 semifinal football playoff loss) wasn't fun."
Bismarck, rated an also-ran in preseason rankings, is off to a 13-6 start, 8-3 in the West Region. Hausauer will take the mound today as the Demons visit region-leading Williston for a pivotal doubleheader.
Although he's quickly emerged one of the top hurlers in the region, See Hausauer, Page 6D
Hausauer said he's completely comfortable in his role as the kingpin of the BHSpitching staff. Pressure has been a steady companion during his athletic career.
"I've wrestled big matches and I've played in big football games," Hausauer related. "In baseball I've played in four Midwest Plains (Babe Ruth) regional tournaments and we went to the (Babe Ruth)World Series once."
In addition, Hausauer has had a long time to get used to the idea of being Bismarck's pitching ace. He was the only underclassman to pitch more than 20 innings for the Demons last spring.
"Iknew I'd be pitching a lot because I was the only starter (on the pitching staff)coming back from last year," he noted. "... I'm a pitcher who plays who-knows-where."
When not on the mound, Hausauer can show up almost anywhere on the diamond, depending on which teammate is pitching. In Bismarck's first 19 games he's played everywhere but the corner infield positions and right field.
As a hitter, Hausauer has found the adjustment to wood bats a challenge. He's batting .216 this spring after putting up marks of .415 as a freshman and .324 as a sophomore.
"My goal is to get to .300," he said.
That would be an important piece to the puzzle as the Demons try to get back to the state tournament after missing in 2006. They were second in the state in 2005, Hausauer's first year on the varsity.
"My goal for the team is to get to state and win two games," Hausauer said. "And if we get three wins, all the better. ... Everyone doubted us at the beginning of the year, so why not prove some more people wrong."
Hausauer owns two shutout wins over Century, one over Dickinson and a 4-1 victory over Mandan. He's surrendered nine hits in 29 innings with eight walks and 19 strikeouts.
As the numbers attest, Hausauer isn't an overwhelming power pitcher. It's the mix of three pitches that have made him a menacing challenge to hitter.
"All three pitches have gotten better," he said as he endeavored to explain the turnaround from last year's 1-6 pitching record. "I'm throwing harder and Ihave command of all three."
Hausauer said things began to come together on the hill during Legion baseball last summer. "Toward the end of the summer Ithrew pretty well. Ihas accurate with my fastball and changeup and I was trying to get my curveball over. This spring it's been just great."
As enjoyable as the run of shutout innings has been, Hausauer said yielding an earned run at some point won't be a traumatic experience for him. "The main thing is to get the win,"he pointed out. "We've got some big games left with Dickinson, Williston and St. Mary's and those games could swing the standings."
No matter how the rest of the high school season plays out, Hausauer will transition to summer baseball after a break of mere hours.
He concedes a three-sport load sometimes gets hectic, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Ifind all three sports fun and if I didn't find one fun I'd probably quit,"he said. "And then what would Ido with that time off?"
Hausauer said all three sports have attractions that keep him coming back for more. "Wrestling was my first sport where Icould start," he related. "Baseball is my favorite sport. I love baseball. And football Ilove because of the contact."
Sometimes 12 months isn't enough time to squeeze all three sports into a year, so Hausauer cheats.
"During football I try to sneak in a little wrestling," he said. "And with the month off (between wrestling and baseball) I try to get my arm in shape and get some cuts in at the dome. And during summer baseball Ihave to try and finagle my schedule so I can get to some football camps and get into the weight room."
This summer Hausauer's plan is to play Legion baseball - mostly.
"Baseball and two football camps," he said.
First, though, there's a little over two - maybe three - weeks of high school baseball demanding his attention. BHScoachTroy Olson will be expecting a strong outing from his ace every trip to the mound and Hausauer doesn't intend to let him down.
"Everyone relies on you (as the staff leader) and you've got to come ready to pitch every game," he noted. "Everyone is pointing at you and if you're off one day they're going to take advantage of it."
Sounds a lot like wrestling, where Hausauer was the man to beat at 160 pounds.
"It is. It's just like wrestling because everyone is gunning for you,"he said.
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