After limited chances in past, Evan Poulopoulos getting rewarded for perseverance with Olivet baseball

Evan Poulopoulos could have walked away.

And he admits to debating about doing just that during a junior season where he had limited playing time for Olivet baseball.  

But Poulopoulos decided to stick with things and kept working.

He's now being rewarded for that decision.

Poulopoulos has emerged as a big contributor as a senior this spring for the Division 2 No. 17-ranked Eagles, who own a 20-2 record and lead the GLAC. The latest LSJ high school athlete of the week winner was key last weekend in Olivet earning wins over state-ranked Decatur and Pewamo-Westphalia while winning a tournament at Davenport.

"We've had different kids step up at different times and he's been one of them that's been pretty consistent throughout the year," Olivet coach Bill Whitely said. "Probably the last three weeks he's played his best baseball. He was only hitting about .250 or .280 about two or three weeks ago. Now he's hitting .400.

"He's increased his batting average immensely and this past weekend when we beat Pewamo-Westphalia and Decatur - both rated teams - he did a great job of driving in runs and leading us to victories in those two games."

Poulopoulos drove in both of Olivet's runs in a 2-1 win over P-W in the title game. Taking a more aggressive approach at the plate has led to the tear he has been on for the Eagles in recent weeks.

"(I had to) just stop watching pitches," Poulopoulos said. "I would watch way too many pitches, especially with two strikes. I learned to protect the plate a lot better and watch that first pitch because it's usually fastball down the middle. I've been swinging at the first pitch a lot more."

Whitely has been glad to see Poulopoulos rewarded with a big season for his perseverance as he waited in the wings behind players last spring. He said Poulopoulos maintained a good attitude, kept improving and increased his strength, which has helped him make a mark from the bottom portion of the Olivet lineup and defensively as a middle infielder.

And after his journey to get to this point, Poulopoulos has relished opportunities like last weekend when he came through with key plays Olivet.

"It meant a lot," Poulopoulos said. "It felt good. We're out a player because he hurt himself so I had to step it up and also play shortstop a little bit while our (regular) shortstop was pitching. I'm just glad I took advantage of the opportunity I got."

More:These are the Greater Lansing high school baseball and softball leaders: May 19

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.