Three busy days in June neatly summarized Zack Gelof’s years at Cape Henlopen High and what is ahead for the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association’s state Player of the Year.
On the first Monday night in June, Gelof won the state championship, a first for Cape Henlopen. He started every game over the best four years in the school’s baseball history.
The following night, he graduated from Cape Henlopen and, during commencement, addressed his fellow grads as class president. Gelof, who had a 4.02 GPA, was elected to that office each of his four years.
Then on Wednesday, he hopped in the car with his mother Kelly for the drive to Brockton, Massachusetts, on the southern outskirts of Boston, so he could begin playing for the Brockton Rox in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England. Gelof is living with a host family there and led the league with a .377 average as of July 3.
“It was definitely tough,” Gelof said of that whirlwind. “But it takes sacrifices to be where I want to be, so that’s something I was like, ‘This is what it’s gonna take to get better.’ ”
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Gelof heads the DBCA All-State first team and continues The News Journal’s series of stories on the best of the spring season in Delaware high school sports. He is brimming with baseball talent and potential that could take him a long way in the game.
From a young age, he has sought to make the most of that ability, including this year at Cape Henlopen.
The shortstop-pitcher batted .466 with six homers and 16 RBIs and also had a 4-0 pitching mark with a 1.30 ERA. Geloff’s 27 hits, 30 runs and 25 stolen bases each led the state this season.
But that is just a small measure of Gelof’s scholastic baseball production. According to DBCA records, Gelof is the state’s all-time leader in runs scored with 103 and stolen bases with 81.
His 105 hits are topped only by the 111 Middletown’s Dale Fry smacked from 1986-89. Gelof was never caught stealing in his Cape career.
Gelof was chosen in the 38th round of the June draft by the Cleveland Indians, which was a considerable compliment because Major League teams were quite aware that Gelof fully intended to honor the commitment he made to the University of Virginia prior to his sophomore year. He signed last fall with Virginia, an academic and baseball powerhouse that has reached the College World Series four times in the last 10 years, winning a national title in 2015.
“The kid’s tremendous. Just a hard worker, great make-up and mindset to get better. Great future ahead,” said Chris Calciano, a Cleveland Indians professional scout who lives in Lewes and has worked with Gelof.
Read the rest of the story in the Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal
