By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p750089521 **
LISLE—The efficient and impactful way the Illinois Wolves 13U play the game, it often feels closer to a relay race in track and field.
The passing of the baton is the symbolic exchange among the players. One guy starts hot, and he passes it from player to the next.
”We’re all part of the team, so we just focus on each other,” outfielder Payton Swartzendruber said. “If one person does well, we just feed off of that.”
That’s a collective effort for the Wolves.
Christian Slazak and Graham Johnson smashed three-run home runs to power the 16-0 victory over Navy Impact 13U on Wednesday night, March 26, at Community Park.
The Wolves (5-0) collected 15 hits, with four of those being extra-base actions. The team is hardly all wood and no glove, shown by the flawless fielding and zero errors.
Slazak and Johnson each finished with four RBI. Slazak was 2-for-3, and Johnson 3-for-4.
Nine different players had at least one hit, with Swartzendruber, Slazak, Johnson and Fred Sackley generating multiple hit games.
Through their first five games, the Wolves have a 99-8 scoring differential.
Starter Slazak (2-0) was equally commanding on the mound, permitting just one hit and striking out three over three innings pitched.
One part of his game naturally feeds into the other. His hitting prowess gives him confidence on the mound, or vice versa.
”I always seem to hit well when I’m pitching well,” Slazak said. “My fastball was really on, and I was also able to get people out with my curveball. They did hit it a little bit, but they all turned into outs.”
The pieces all naturally flow together. The offense sparks the defense, and the Wolves excel in all phases of the game.
Relievers Jackson Martin and Brady Madden were just as electrifying during their two-inning stints.
Martin struck out five, and Madden six of the seven batters he faced.
As a byproduct of the camaraderie, balance and chemistry of the team, the players have worked out their healthy competitive rivalries. The passing of the baton from one batter to the next stems from the natural desire to keep up and take part in the fun.
“We all get along, and we have this nice bond with each other,” outfielder Matthew Wiskowski said. Wiskowski had an RBI double.
“When I see one guy doing well I have to compete with that, and I have to do just as well,” he said. “I just love that feeling of playing with my friends, and winning. It’s awesome.”
Even when the prodigious bats take a few innings to really achieve their full power, the Wolves have shown other ways to score.
Swartzendruber went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. He also stole four bases, out of the seven the Wolves collected.
Johnson’s RBI single in the first initiated the scoring,
The early onslaught was classic small ball developed from taking advantage of walks and stolen bases for the 3-0 first inning lead.
“We started off the game strong, and we never stopped,” Swartzendruber said. “We have really good pitching, and our hitting game has been really good from the beginning of our season.”
Slazak’s three-run dinger into left center on a 3-0 count in the third inning expanded the lead to 7-0.
Success naturally begets even greater success. To a player from the top to the bottom of the order, the Wolves are going up swinging free and easy.
Nobody is tight or overthinking the situation. The team is free and loose, and bombing away.
“We all just come to the plate with confidence and do our jobs,” infielder Fred Sackley said.
Sackley had an RBI double in the game.
“We’ve had time to play together now, and I think we’ve all created these great relationships,” he said. “We’re all part of the same team. We’re training together and even hanging out sometimes to get to know each other better. I think our bond is even stronger throughout the season.”
The natural confidence radiates in all directions. The players never get stressed about a slow start with the attack knowing the pitching is going to always keep them competitive.
Likewise a rare bad pitching performance is nullified by the huge bats and potent scoring the team is constantly capable of.
“Even if you let up a run, you never get worried besides, we know we have such a good offense,” Slazak said.
“With the power we have, we know we have a good team.”
That versatility and ability to play different styles and win games in different manner has ignited the early success.
Johnson punctuated the dominant performance with his Ruthian three-run home run deep in the sixth over the center field wall that appeared to travel about 320 feet.
”I saw the first pitch fastball down the middle, and I just put it in the trees,” Johnson said.
Slazak has a team-best five home runs, and Johnson is just behind him with four.
“Our third game of the season, we had like 13 home runs, and I think that really sparked us to play with confidence and swing the bats hard,” Johnson said. “Even if we have a bad inning at the plate, we know we’re always in the game with our pitching. Then we just go back up, and swing away.”
During the torrid start, the Wolves are attending to details and basics, doing the intangibles that matter. That leads to the fireworks and offensive display.
This is just the start.
”I think we have a lot more games ahead of us, and we just want to keep hitting well and pitching well,” Swartzendruber said.
Balance and perspective color everything.
“We just have to keep our mindsets in place, and stay mentally locked in,” Sackley said.
The Illinois Wolves 13U had many outstanding contributors in the 16-0 victory over Navy Impact. They were Jonny Burke, Griff Sinkovich, Michael Petrbok, Auggie Ruffolo and Julien Duque.
