Aurora Christian’s Jack Burns has put together the type of career arc a coach hopes for when he calls up a player to the varsity as a sophomore in a utility role.

Burns got his feet wet that spring. Last season, he started to come into his own. And now, as a senior, he has fully blossomed into the Eagles’ top hitter.

“Last year, he started every day and you could see him getting better and better,” Aurora Christian coach Andy Zorger said. “He had some clutch hits last year. He’s just been consistently great this season.

“He’s been barreling the ball. He’s been huge right there in the middle of the lineup for us.”

The senior shortstop was in the middle of the action once again Wednesday afternoon for the Eagles in a 14-4 victory in six innings over host Westminster Christian in Elgin.

Burns came up with an RBI single, stole a base and scored as part of a five-run first inning for Aurora Christian (11-6). He then broke the game wide open with a three-run triple in the third.

Noah Zappia had two hits, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. Owen Niedzwiecki, Zach Zappia and Jackson Zorger added two hits apiece. Nolan Robertson pitched a complete game.

Anthony Braoudakis contributed two hits, including a two-run double, for Westminster (6-10).

When Burns was called up to varsity as a sophomore, he was mostly a defensive fill-in. Andy Zorger had weighed putting him on JV to get more at-bats against having him as a bench piece.

Looking back, Burns said that experience completely changed his outlook on varsity baseball.

“That taught me a lot of good lessons,” Burns said. “I guess the biggest thing I learned is it’s not all about myself. When you get into higher levels of baseball, it’s not so much about what you do. It’s more about the team winning.

“That’s something you pick up as you go along. You pick up things like discipline, being a good teammate.”

On the field, he also adopted Zorger’s offensive philosophy of working the middle of the field. That has helped Burns go from a .120 hitter to a .333 hitter to a .481 hitter so far this season.

“He’s just confident in his swing,” Zorger said. “Every day in the cage, it’s just line drives up the middle. That’s what we’re preaching. We have to stay in the middle of the field.

“Most of his damage is in the middle, which is awesome.”

Burns leads Aurora Christian with 25 hits, six doubles and two triples. He’s also second on the team with 17 RBIs and 17 runs while going a blistering 25-for-52 at the plate.

With his vast experience, Burns isn’t trying to overthink it. He’s just trying to enjoy himself.

“You can’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Burns said. “You just have to trust your body and let it flow. Our game is just having fun, because at the end of the day, it is a game.”

Westminster fell behind 9-0 but battled back with four runs in the third. They couldn’t get to Robertson after that, however. Braoudakis’ big hit stood out to Warriors coach Micah Bohyer.

“Anthony is one of our best hitters,” Bohyer said. “He’s our clutch hitter, our most consistent hitter.”

Burns, meanwhile, is trying to impart the wisdom he has gained to the next generation of Aurora Christian players. He’s also anchoring the lineup and playing a steady shortstop.

He hopes all of that leads to a deep postseason run.

“I think it’s a great group,” Burns said. “I think we can definitely go far if we play our game. I hope we go far because it’s my senior season.

“I hope we can play a few more games because I love this group.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.