EAST BUTLER — Pitchers are supposed to have the upper hand in baseball.

Such standards don’t apply when Isaiah Lucas steps into the batter’s box.

The 13-year-old slugger is hitting .853 — 29-for-34 — with seven doubles, two triples and a homer for the East Butler Indians so far this season in Butler Pony Prep League action.

“Before I’m up at the plate, I get my timing,” said Lucas. “Then I just go up and recognize the pitch and whatever it is, I just hit it.”

More like crush it.

“It’s unbelievable,” said East Butler coach Des Schnur. “He’s just smashing the ball.”

The towering fence at Speed-O Field has even felt Lucas’ wrath.

The soon-to-be eighth grader belted a pitch off the 348-foot wall earlier this spring.

“That was very cool,” said Lucas. “That was my farthest hit.”

And he has a souvenir to prove it.

“We gave him the ball and wrote ‘348’ on it,” said Schnur.

Lucas also pitches and features a fastball in the 70s along with a change-up and curveball in his arsenal. He also has good speed, swiping 19 bases for East Butler this year.

“He pitches for other teams so we can’t use him as much as we’d like, but he’s our stopper,” said Schnur. “He comes in during key situations and shuts them down.

“He’s very fast on the bases,” Schnur added. “He’s very aggressive and a smart player.”

Lucas was introduced to baseball at age 5 and it has since become a part of his daily life.

Aside from manning shortstop and center field for his East Butler team, he also plays on the Ohio Glaciers 13-and-under traveling squad.

Lucas will participate in the Potter Baseball Tour, which features ballplayers ages 13 to 15 from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia. The tour stops at 15-20 towns in the Mid-Atlantic region.

It’s more than just baseball, though.

“It’s for helping people and giving back to the community,” said Lucas. “It’s for three weeks. We travel around to different towns and help out communities if they’re having trouble with some things. Then we play baseball to have fun.”

Baseball will take him to Florida this summer, as well, to play in a major tournament with a team from Michigan.

The benefits of baseball and his uncanny ability to mash an incoming pitch didn’t come without hard work.

“It’s his overall dedication to baseball,” said Schnur. “He plays every day in different leagues and tries to get better. He plays baseball almost year-round.”

Lucas has received instruction at Butler native Jay Fennell’s Nothing But Baseball facility for the past four years.

Fennell quickly recognized the untapped talent.

“He’s a very, very talented hitter,” said Fennell. “He throws the ball hard, he’s sound defensively, but his biggest strength is going to be his hitting and the power he can generate.”

Lucas credited Fennell with developing his skills.

“I’ve had a lot of help from Jay Fennell with my batting,” he said. “He’s definitely been a big help.”

Two years into his training with Fennell, a particular swing from Lucas will forever be etched in his instructor’s memory.

“When he was 11 years old, he was at one of our baseball camps and he hit a ball 300 feet,” said Fennell. “I’ll never forget where it landed. ... That’s when I knew this kid had freak power.

“He’s a strong kid, but everything comes together at the point of contact the right way,” Fennell added. “I think he has perfect hitting mechanics to generate the maximum power he can for his size.”

Lucas’ dreams might be the only thing bigger than his swing.

“My biggest and ultimate goal is to make it to the majors,” he said, “but I want to play in college, too.”

A good head on his shoulders will help improve the odds.

“It’s a pleasure coaching him,” said Schnur.

Fennell agreed.

“He’s a great kid,” he said. “He’s a leader by example and I really think the sky is the limit for him.”