Posted: June 16, 2009

Kyle Pachowitz and Matt Petritis have been best friends since the eighth grade. Not coincidently, they have a lot in common.

Both recently graduated Muskego seniors have been active in high school sports and are starting outfielders for the Muskego baseball team. Both did well in school and were involved in other extra-curricular activities. And the two will be roommates at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse next fall.

They also could be the best captains the Muskego baseball team has had, at least in coach Mike Schramek's eight-year tenure.

"What makes me most proud is their academic standing," Schramek said. "They are two high-performing varsity athletes that really do a nice job in the classroom and work equally as hard to stay on top with their athletic ability. They balance it out. That makes them in that upper tier.

"I've had a lot of good captains, but arguably these might be the two best and that might be the single reason why, because they balance the priorities in their lives."

Both players are two-year starters for the Warriors, who are off to a 7-4 start overall as of Monday. Petritis, a two-year captain, is the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter. Pachowitz is the left fielder and is batting .383 as the eighth hitter in the lineup.

"They are both very talented," Schramek said. "They are crucial to what we want to accomplish as far as their on-the-field play goes, but they keep us on track to accomplish our goals and reach our potential."

In the classroom, Petritis, who plans to go into business at UW-La Crosse, finished with a 3.5 grade-point average and was a member of the Math Honor Society. Pachowitz, who wants to be a pediatrician, had a 3.87 GPA and was a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.

"Their academics, the things they choose to do outside of school - they're certainly enjoying their high school years but making good choices while doing that," Schramek said. "We have a couple young men that have their priorities in order. You put responsibility on their shoulders to make sure they get it done 365 days a year. They show the underclassmen what our standard is and how to get it done at the varsity level."

Petritis said his and Pachowitz's personalities are different enough that they complement each other well.

"He's more the guy that's going to crack down on them, and I'm more of the joke guy," Petritis said. "If business needs to be taken care of, I'll take care of it, but the biggest thing (he tells the team) is don't take it too serious. Don't treat it like a job. Go out and have fun. If you're not having fun, you're not going to do well."

Pachowitz and Petritis are two of only four seniors on the roster. There are eight juniors and two sophomores as well, and Pachowitz, who was in a rotation of captains of the football team last fall, said this is one of the closest teams he has ever been on.

"We're such a young team; being a captain is real important," he said.