For Ben Eckels, there was a lot happening last Tuesday night in Fresno.

Eckels was trying to maintain focus on his pitching assignment against state powerhouse Clovis North.

The Bronco bench wasn’t helping, twice being warned for the aspersions they were throwing the way of Davis High’s very talented starter.

Then there were the pro scouts — 18 of them, to be exact — with speed guns aimed at No. 3, notebooks out.

While Eckels didn’t disappoint, his team lost, 2-0.

The senior right-hander pitched a one-hitter. He fanned seven in six innings, including punching out Kyle Condley on a 93 mph fastball.

Most of the scouts stuck with Eckels — the only player they came to see that night — through his entire stint.

“He’s what we thought he was,” said one scout, not caring to have his affiliation mentioned. Who a team is looking at is high espionage in Major League Baseball. “We had him touching 90 in the middle innings. He was as advertised. He looked comfortable.”

Comfortable? As comfortable as an 18-year-old torn in 100 different directions can be.

Eckels’ story is one that fills most Little Leaguers’ dreams.

But the constant attention — the growing interest from colleges and pros, and the demands of getting noticed to be in the position he’s in — took a toll on Eckels in the classroom.

“I really got caught up in the major-league stuff … (thinking) you really don’t need anything other than talent to be drafted,” Eckels told The Enterprise recently.

Because of his big fastball and composure on the mound, Eckels frequently is invited to show off his skills — a convenience for the scouts, an imposition to a 12th-grader trying to make grades.

Already this school year, Eckels appeared in outings in Long Beach for the Oakland A’s Area Code team and at showcase tournaments in Florida and the Carolinas. Those trips came at the expense of time in the classroom.

Eckels, not surprisingly, fell behind.

First, there was a misunderstanding about what was required of the player by the school.

His mom, Elk Grove schools behavior specialist Susan Jones, says there was no mention of independent study when she told DHS that he was headed to Southern California for the first tournament.

When he returned, Eckels was greeted with a raft-load of back homework.

Later, on trips to the Deep South to appease MLB scouts who had to see more of the emerging star, Eckels knew it wouldn’t help his academic standing — but playing well in Florida could mean a professional contract.

“There were several people that told him, from a school standpoint, it was not a good idea,” Devil baseball coach Dan Ariola explained.

But the pressure was such that Eckels believed he couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity.

The good news, in the so-called Perfect Game series, was that Eckels excelled: a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts and even more scouting interest.

The flip side? Upon return, Eckels was academically ineligible for the spring DHS baseball season. He missed the first two weeks of the regular season while he scrambled to meet classroom requirements.

“My parents were always on me about (scholastics),” Eckels explains. “And then I had a scout tell me that I had to get my stuff done in class.

“I knew it was something I should have done myself … it’s a regret in life.”

But Eckels is done with all the shows. Now, he has his grades back to par and plans on with finishing with a flourish — both in his studies and on-field efforts at DHS.

“When I was around the (MLB) baseball world, it was easy for me to get caught up with the thoughts of ‘Oh, well, I’m going to be drafted,’ ” Eckels says. “Now, (my) focus is on winning the first round of playoffs. I want to get past that first game. And it would be real nice to get that section championship.”

While Davis has won CIF crowns in 2000 and 2004, it hasn’t advanced past the first round of the Sac-Joaquin playoffs since 2008.

But first things first. The Blue Devils have to navigate the rugged Delta Valley Conference, home to Elk Grove — a school that has gone 29-1 in league over the past two years.

“This is a great opportunity for us,” Eckels says. “League is down a little bit. It’s kind of evening out. No one is going to dominate.”

Unless it’s Eckels …

This season he is 2-1 with an 0.49 earned run average. He’s struck out 23 batters in only 14 innings of work.

Going back to his sophomore season, Eckels’ career shows a 10-6 record, 140 strikeouts in 91 innings with a 1.31 ERA.

Listed at 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, Eckels had a couple of the scouts in Fresno saying “Tim Hudson-type.” One called him a “baby Lincecum.”

Whatever the comparison, Eckels promises he has his head on straight these days.

“There are a lot of options still,” he points out. “Right now, I am just playing high school ball. When the June draft comes, then I can decide what I’m going to do with my future.”

If the draft isn’t what he hopes it to be, Eckels is headed to baseball-savvy Howard Community College (Big Spring, Texas). From there, it could be on to a major university.

Oklahoma, Texas, TCU and Florida have shown more than casual interest in Eckels.

“Sometimes it’s really stressful,” admits Eckels, who knows his parents, Jones and Kevin Eckels, have his back. “But going through all this (is what) I have to be doing because I love baseball.”

Eckels’ dad coached him in Little League, attends most of his son’s practices and all his games.

“I hope he gets a chance to chase his dream … to be happy and play baseball somewhere,” Kevin says, adding that he noticed Ben was different early on.

“He always had a strong arm from the get-go. At the first practice at T-ball, he wouldn’t play catch with the other kids because they couldn’t catch the ball — he threw too hard.”

Dad quit playing catch with his kid “around 14.” Not because he didn’t want to keep playing catching for his son’s developing talent: “Ben told me not to be back there anymore because he was worried about my safety.”

Jones understands the confusion about what was required upon Eckels’ return to the classroom — and all the other attention pulling her son in different directions — could cause a lot of youths to fall behind in school. No excuse, mind you, but …

“Baseball has become such a major focus, the idea of being a student-athlete has been pushed aside,” she said. “Both his dad and I have pushed and pushed and pushed (about academics).

“Him being told for a couple of years that he’s such an amazing athlete, it has taken the focus off of the (classroom). I would like to see the scouting system put as much emphasis on academics as they do on talent — at least in the discussions.”

Eckels’ brother Josh and sister Catherine attend Birch Lane Elementary School. Dad works for Blake’s Heating and Air and his grandparents, Anne and Paul Jones, have been longtime benefactors of the Blue Devil baseball program.

It is Ben Eckels’ uncle and Susan Jones’ late brother Bobby who is memorialized on the DHS stadium scoreboard.

“(Ben) is a great kid,” mom says. “My hope is that whatever choices are made in the next few months, that everyone that is looking at home or working with him is involved in his entire future, not just the right now.”

Notes: Ben is a 5-handicap golfer who admits that if it wasn’t for baseball, maybe a links future would be next in line. … Growing up playing Little League and travel ball with best buddies Hayden Duer, Chris Gnos, George Hatamiya and Patric Kreidler, Eckels loves having all these guys together on the Devil varsity: “I’m really enjoying that.” … So what words of wisdom does Eckels have for kids who aspire to playing in high school and beyond? “Everyone has talent at the next level,” the pitcher says. “Now it’s all about work ethic. Everyone is as good as you are … it’s like facing (Jesuit superstar) Zach Green over and over again.” … Jones says “advisers” — from which the family has received as many as a dozen calls in a day — fast become agents. Who will represent Eckels, if necessary? “I’m doing homework on that now,” adds mom. The MLB draft is June 4.

— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047.

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DHS pitcher Ben Eckels had no less than 18 scouts watching him on Tuesday when the Blue Devils faced Clovis North in the Fresno Easter Classic. The Blue Devils lost 2-0 despite Eckels throwing a one-hitter. Mark Martin/Courtesy photo

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DHS right-hander Ben Eckels, a pro prospect, throws a pitch during a 2-0 loss to Clovis North in the Fresno Easter Classic on Tuesday. Eckels was a tough-luck loser, allowing just one hit and striking out seven in the game. Mark Martin/Courtesy photo

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