Illinois Prep Baseball Pitcher of Week Jackson Heidemann thriving as sophomore at Harlem

Jackson Heidemann's dad was a two-time all-conference catcher for Harlem. His grandpa went to Harlem. His great grandpa went to Harlem and became mayor of Loves Park. Harlem’s basketball gym is named after his great uncle, Art Anderson.

The Heidemann family has always been tied to Harlem. Until Jackson Heidemann enrolled at Rockford Lutheran as a freshman.

“My brother also went to Lutheran,” said Jackson's dad, Scott Heidemann. “My parents gave us a choice where we wanted to go. Unbeknownst to us, Jackson had been thinking about going to Lutheran.”

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Jackson left for the best reason possible. He also returned for a good reason.

“I wanted to grow my faith and try something new, really learn more about God,” said Jackson Heidemann, who has quickly become a star as a sophomore on Harlem’s baseball team. “I also knew a few people over there.

“But I missed my friends. I missed everything about Harlem. It’s a great local community. Everywhere I go in Loves Park and Machesney Park, it’s all Harlem. But I do miss Lutheran and all the relationships I had there. It was going from a place I like to a place I really like. There were no complaints (at Lutheran). I just wanted to come back and do something for a Harlem program that hasn’t been done for a long time.”

Heidemann is off to a good start. The 6-foot-2 right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.81 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 19 ⅓ innings. Batters are hitting .147 against him. He was recently named Prep Baseball Illinois Pitcher of the Week after throwing a four-inning perfect game against East and then shutting out defending NIC-10 co-champ Freeport 3-0 on two hits over 6 ⅓ innings.

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“That was pretty cool,” Jackson Heidemann said. “My dad showed me at our house when I got home from practice. That’s something I have always been looking at on social media. It’s pretty surreal.

“I’ve got to stay humble and still pitch good. After that, people are starting to come for me. Now I am the pitcher everyone wants to hit off. It’s still early in the season. Nothing is set in stone yet. I have to keep pitching good.”

If people want to hit off Heidemann, they better step into the box ready to hit. Heidemann has a good 85 mph fastball, a solid curveball and is developing a changeup. But his greatest talent is challenging hitters, trusting his defense and getting ahead in the count. Quickly.

“He gets hitters on their heels trying to figure out what he is going to throw,” Harlem coach Scott McCloy said. “The key to high school pitching is getting ahead and Jackson is throwing 65 percent first-pitch strikes. He pounds the zone. In high school baseball, it’s all about the approach. If they aren’t attacking the first pitch, Jackson is always going to be ahead of them. He also works real quick and keeps hitters unbalanced.”

Jackson has also kept his dad a little off-balance. Or at least out of the loop. Jackson did not give his parents much notice that he wanted to start high school at Lutheran. And also didn’t really share why he wanted to return to Harlem this year.

And his dad didn’t pry.

“One of the nicest, most heart-warming moments in the article is the fact that he loves the Harlem community,” his dad said of a Register Star story after his son shut out Freeport. “He shared more in that article than he did with us. We’re just happy he’s happy. As a parent, whether it’s sports or school, we try to help our children but not be overbearing. As long as he is happy, we will support him wherever he decides to go.”

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Baseball has always provided a strong bond between Scott Heidemann and his son.

“Dad was always my coach when we were younger,” Jackson said. “We would fight a lot. I’d take a bad swing and be mad at myself. My dad would try to make an adjustment and I would get mad. He put up with my bad attitude all the time. He has done everything for me. He still teaches me every moment he can. He believes in me and gives me help with baseball. Everything in life even. He helps me.”

Dad even helped Jackson realize how much he loved Harlem. Simply by talking about his days there.

“My dad telling me stories of all he did for Harlem is part of the reason I realized how much I missed it,” Jackson Heidemann said. “Now when I graduate from Harlem, I can look back at all my stats compared to his stats and see where I rank against him. We haven’t talked about it, but I am sure my dad is proud I am a Huskie again. He never told me, but I assume he is a little happier.”

Scott Heidemann might be happiest that his son liked both schools he chose. And was well-liked back in both places. Jackson and Scott returned to Lutheran earlier this month to watch the Crusaders play Rockford Christian and received a warm welcome.

“It was tremendous to see his old teammates surround him with love,” Scott Heidemann said of his son. “He grew up in a good way and learned a lot about himself. That year at Lutheran only helped him, on and off the field.”

Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Harlem's Jackson Heidemann is Illinois Prep Baseball Pitcher of Week