By Patrick McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill and Alexa Bordick
**Additional Photos are Availble at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p683734447 **
GLEN ELLYN—The past is not always predictive of future performance, especially with the volatility brought about by weather, youth and the nature of the game.
The 12U Illinois-Lisle Wolves learned the hard lessons in a rematch with the Glen Ellyn Rebels Black, a team they pummeled 10-0 on April 11.
Nothing ever quite stays the same, whether science, history or baseball.
“When the weather isn’t ideal conditions, I think it evens the two teams out,” Wolves’ coach Brandin Muniz said. “The last time we played them, it was pretty nice weather, and very one-sided.
“Today our bigger sticks just weren’t coming through.”
With the crisp, unseasonably cool weather dipping into the low 40s, the Wolves had to recalibrate on the move. The team used speed and aggressive baserunning to stay close.
When push came to shove and the moment truly mattered, Graham Johnson reached deep down inside and delivered the haymaker.
Johnson blasted a two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning that sparked the Wolves’ comeback 5-3 victory at Village Green on Wednesday, April 24.
The Wolves (11-2-1, 6-0) stayed perfect in league play of the WSBL.
An infielder, Johnson finished 2-for-4 with the 2 RBI and scored a run.
He took the high outside ball deep into right center in scoring the go-ahead runs.
“He threw a fastball,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t super hard or anything, so I was just waiting back and expecting it. That opened up the game really well.”
“Power and contact are the two things I’m best at. It was tough hitting tonight with the cold, but I was able to get some solid contact there.”
The son of assistant coach Grant Johnson, he combines excellent size with a natural swing, the ability to make contact and solid power.
Muniz said Johnson’s mentality, intensity and sense of purpose have also gone up a notch.
“He came through with two strikes,” Muniz said. “Sometimes he gets into his head, and I told him not to do that, because otherwise he gets defensive, and he needs to be aggressive up there at the plate.”
The two-run blast put the Wolves up 4-3.
The Wolves stormed back from two separate deficits, trailing 1-0 in the first after starter Brian Grogan surrendered an RBI triple.
“I just hung a curveball there, but I came right back and struck the next guy out,” Grogan said. “I’m like Kyle Hendricks. I’m not going to overpower people with my fastball, or anything like that.”
“I’m more of an off-balance pitcher. Kyle’s the same way. He doesn’t have a blow by fastball, but he has really good off-speed and movement. I have a similar style. I just let the players put the ball in play. I felt like tonight I produced a lot of ground balls, which led to a lot of outs.”
Despite the adverse cold and weather conditions, the Wolves adjusted and dug in, utilizing an aggressive and punishing baserunning style. The team utilized seven walks, and pressure that forced mistakes by the Rebels.
The Wolves scored a run apiece in the second and third inning off of passed balls. Johnson also stole two bases.
The pressure created chaos the team fed off.
“I told the kids that we have to force and manufacture runs, with bunting, move our guys over, get the pitcher off the mound and the third baseman running,” Muniz said.
“We’re just getting ourselves swinging for pop ups.”
The Wolves used three pitchers. Grogan received the start, and finished with two strikeouts, no walks, the two hits and two runs, one of them unearned after the Wolves failed to catch a foul pop with two outs.
Gavin Smith picked up the victory with three solid innings of middle relief. He struck out four, walked three and allowed just the one run that was the result of an opposite field triple and throwing error.
“Our pitching is what is always going to carry us,” Muniz said. “It’s the strength of the team. It creates a mismatch with other teams.
“Gavin came through. We had some miscommunication with the catcher where the wrong pitch was being called. Those kids seem to always get a second chance, and he made the most of it.”
Outfielder Johnny Burke also protected the lead in the bottom of the fifth with an athletic move to motor deep into left center on the flyout with a runner at third for the Rebels.
Outfielder Auggie Ruffolo created a vital insurance run in the sixth inning with a ground out RBI.
If the Wolves’ bats were chilled by the cruel night air, the team compensated by being exceptionally opportunistic.
Defensively the team shored up its mistakes with the game hanging in the balance. Outside of the extra base hit he allowed, Smith was composed and under control.
“I felt like I pitched pretty well out there,” he said. “My style is definitely more off-speed. I’m never really going to overpower guys out there.
“I like throwing different pitches. That is my favorite thing when I’m out on the mound. What also helps me when I’m out there throwing is I just try to be relaxed and go out there and play. I just concentrate on throwing.”
If the Wolves were not dominant, they found a different register. That was good enough.
The third pitcher, Christian Slazak, earned the save with his seventh inning appearance. The 5-foot-9 flamethrower flirted with disaster, taking his first two batters to a full count.
The first was caught looking, and the second one reached base on a walk. Slazak settled down, and secured the win with a strikeout and a foul pop up to first base.
“With my size, it’s always easy when I’m out there throwing,” Slazak said. “I started one game so far. I didn’t feel a lot of pressure, because I knew it was toward the end of their lineup, so it was probably a little easier to compete against. I always come out confident.”
Others contributed to the highlight reel victory against Glen Ellyn, including Eamon Muldoon, Griff Sinkovich, Tyler Sokolnicki, Nico Villanueva, Quinn Robinson, and Michael Petrbok.