Collin Peacock had a .444 batting average as a freshman for the Bethlehem Catholic baseball team and scored 21 runs and stole 8 bases. (Contributed photo / Tim Peacock)

In major league baseball, if a player is struggling, organizations send him down to the minors to improve.

In high school baseball, if a player is scuffling, the coach sends him to the JV team to get right.

Collin Peacock didn’t get his first scholastic baseball season off to a great start, but he rebounded to become one of the best hitters in the Golden Hawks’ lineup.

He batted .444 in 36 at-bats, drove in 10 runs, scored 21 and stole eight bases while also doing a solid job in center field. He helped Becahi win seven of its last nine regular-season games, including its final four, and return to the District 11 4A tournament.

Even though the Golden Hawks fell to Blue Mountain 7-5 in the district semifinals, Peacock’s performance bodes well for the program’s future and was good enough to earn him The Morning Call Rookie of the Year honors for the 2022 season.

“Collin is a great story of perseverance,” said Becahi coach Matt Corsi. “Coming out of tryouts, we told him he was going to be on the varsity. When we got outside for practice and watched the first two scrimmages, we saw him play like a freshman. He was overthrowing cutoff men; he was throwing to the wrong base, and as a coaching staff we felt he wasn’t ready to put in games yet. Athletically, he was ready, but we felt he had to learn the game. So, we pulled him aside and said you’re going to go down to the JV where you can get your feet wet and then we’ll reconsider after a few games.”

Corsi said that after the first few weeks of the season when the varsity got off to a 2-4 start, Corsi said it was time to make some moves. Eric Wert, who had been playing center field, moved to shortstop. That opened a spot in the outfield and Peacock came back up to the varsity from the JV team.

“From that point, he didn’t look back,” Corsi said. “He can do a lot of things. He ended up being our No. 2 hole hitter and table-setter along with Wert. They ended up getting on base a lot for Chaise Albus. Collin’s a weapon and him and Wert are probably two of the fastest guys I’ve ever coached. Defensively, the catch he made in the 3-0 win we had over Central Catholic in the district playoffs was sensational. We made the right move and really strengthened the team.”

Corsi added that Peacock, who also plays football as a wide receiver, is a great kid.

“One of my assistant coaches said that he didn’t hear Collin say two words all season,” Corsi said. “Then at about the 18th game he started to come out of his shell and started talking more. It was like ‘Oh, that’s Peacock. He does have a voice.’ He’s just a very quiet kid, but very coachable. He comes from a great family. His brother, Joey, also played at Becahi a few years ago graduating in 2019.”

Corsi said that Peacock and Wert are similar athletes, except that Peacock hits from the left side.

“They both can run and both can play shortstops and center field in baseball and are wide receivers in football,” Corsi said. “He plays travel baseball, but the one thing that’s tough is that he’s fully committed to football as of Aug. 1, and I don’t see him again until January.”

Peacock, who was in Georgia this week playing in a tournament for the Lehigh Valley Revolution travel program, has the ability to adapt and adjust quickly. He knew what he had to do after being bumped from varsity for a brief period.

“I feel like I found my swing in the few JV games I played,” he said. “In the first game I played, I hit two over the fence at their East Hills [Middle School] fence. I was batting .700 on the three games I played with the JV team.”

An injury suffered by Evan Druckenmiller gave Peacock a starting spot and he made the most of it.

“I felt very confident when I came back up,” he said.

Peacock said it was requires some balancing to play football and baseball at the same time.

“It’s tough mentally and physically sometimes and you have to try to stay energized,” he said. “Football is Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and on some weekends we have 7-on-7s but I haven’t been able to come to any of them because of baseball.”

Peacock said baseball’s his first love and said things come just a little bit easier for him on the diamond.

After Becahi went 2-7 last season, he’s looking forward to a better much football season this “if we come together as a team and work together as one. He also believes the Golden Hawks can win more games in baseball as well. He plans to contribute to that uptick by sharpening his baseball skills.

“I can work on everything; there’s nothing I shouldn’t work on,” he said. “But mostly I will work on my swing and try to hit more line drives. I also want to work on my speed so I can get to balls quicker in the outfield and steal more bases.

“Football actually helps with my outfield play because reading the ball off the bat is like watching the ball come out of the quarterback’s hands. Or it’s like punt returning. You’ve got to pick up the ball in the air and make sure you secure it.”

Corsi said he feels fortunate to have Peacock back for three more seasons as Becahi strives to get back to the championship level it had in 2021 when the Golden Hawks won a District 11 title.

“He’s a hard-working kid and a terrific athlete,” he said. “I’m really excited to him grow.”

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