By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
**Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p587765376 **
Franklin, Wisconsin – The 12U Illinois-Lisle Wolves youth baseball team faced many tough obstacles late Sunday afternoon.
First off, the Wolves had to deal with an additional wait for their game, with the first pitch moved back nearly an hour to 3 p.m.
Secondly, the Wolves had to endure an oppressive heat dialing up to nearly 91 degrees.
And finally, they were in a win-or-go-home game.
With a win, the Wolves would advance to the title game of the 12U King of the Rock tournament. Losing meant an early exit and a long trip down the interstate, while also putting a slight tamper on Father’s Day.
In the end, the Wolves were up to the difficult task thanks to a pitching gem from Nico Villanueva.
The lanky right-hander pitched like a pro, working himself out of several jams, playing stellar defense on the mound and also delivering a key RBI to lead the Illinois Wolves to a hard-fought and impressive 3-2 victory over Flash-Slaven in the semifinals.
Villanueva went all six innings giving up a mere 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 9 and walking 4 batters..
Although the Wolves lost in the title game, the semifinal victory showed their potential.
The Wolves compiled just five hits, but manufactured two runs and rode Villanueva’s gutsy performance to a victory. Villanueva flashed his potential for high school by battling adversity, not buckling in several key situations throughout his six-inning complete game effort. The visitors managed to scored both of their runs in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run single, but Villanueva stuck his feet in the ground and fanned the next batter and catcher Tyler Sokolnicki threw out a runner stealing to end the inning.
“I felt really good on the mound,” Villanueva said. “I felt it right away, starting with the first batter and getting one out with one pitch. After that, I felt even better. Today I was trying to pitch the whole game and not give up any runs, but I came close.”
On the mound, Villanueva was dealing from the outside. Helping by a strong wind blowing in, Villanueva relied on his moxie, a biting fastball and unrelenting nerve to work himself out of numerous jams to not let Flash-Slaven take a lead.
As the game progressed, Villanueva gained more confidence. He retired Flash-Slaven in order in the sixth and final inning.
“I got mad when runners got on, so I just tried to do good,” Villanueva said. “In the last inning, I realized I had to come out strong. I didn’t want to lose. My fastball was working really good today.”
After scoring a run in the first inning, the Wolves battled and battled to keep from losing their slim lead in the defensive battle against Flash-Slaven.
Griff Sinkovich started the bottom of the second inning with a first-pitch rope single, but the Wolves were set down in order to spoil the threat. Auggie Ruffolo drilled a deep fly ball to right field that was caught for the first out.
“The first pitch was a ball, so the second pitch I thought it would be my pitch to hit and I waited back and just tried to hit it hard and I managed to execute it,” Sinkovich said of his RBI hit. “It felt pretty good off the barrel.”
But no worries were in order at that point, even with a 1-0 lead because Villanueva was on fire, causing a parent in the crowd to say, “he’s finding his groove,” following a one-two-three job in the top of the third inning.
But the Flash-Slaven were also piecing together a solid game on all three phases, leaving fans on the edge of their seats during the scorching temps.
Flash-Slaven made a big move in the top of the fourth, by getting the first batter of the inning on base via a walk. The second batter attempted a bunt that got some lift on it, but Villanueva darted off the mound, taking a few steps quickly to his right and diving to catch the bunt, then getting up and whizzing the ball to second base for a double play.
“I saw it was coming in and I had my momentum that way and just dove for it,” Villanueva said. “I heard someone say to throw it to second, so I just turned around and threw it.”
But Flash-Slaven wasn’t finished, loading the bases thanks to a single, intentional walk and hit-by-pitch with two outs. Then, with Illinois Wolves leading 1-0, Villanueva threw three straight balls with the bases loaded. Just when it looked like he was falling apart on the hot day, Villanueva tossed three straight strikes, ending the threat with a strikeout, causing him to slap his glove to punctuate the feat.
“I realized I really had to lock in and work,” Villanueva said. “It felt really good to get out of that inning.” “
In the bottom of the fourth, the Illinois Wolves’ pitcher helped his own cause by doubling his team’s lead. Villanueva belted a double to right field to score a run for a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Griff Sinkovich added an RBI single to right field to push the lead to 3-0.
“I knew I had to drive in a run to help me, so I swung hard and got a good hit to help us,” Villanueva said of his key hit.
The Wolves picked up contributions up and down the lineup and even in the dugout.
On the field, the Wolves managed just five hits, but made the most of their work. Michael Petrbok had one hit and scored a run, Christian Slazak added a hit and a run, Villanueva was 1-for-2 with an RBI, Sinkovich had a solid day with a 2-for-2 effort and drove in a run to go with stellar play at shortstop, including picking up a screaming one-hopper and throwing a runner out at first in the top of the third inning.
“This feels pretty good because it got us in the championship game,” Slazak said. “Nico did really good, threw a lot of shutout innings and made that amazing diving play. I just tried to put the ball in play in my first at-bat and my second at-bat I was able to take a curveball and get a double.”
Meanwhile, Sinkovich said he was happy with the win and his play, notably making the scoop on the hard-hit third inning ball.
“I didn’t really know I had the ball because it threw me off when it hit the mound, but then I collected myself and just threw it to first,” Sinkovich said. “Nico was dealing. He did so good at pitching. Overall, he’s a very good player and will go far. This win felt really good, just making the championship.”
In the dugout, Brian Grogan didn’t play but did great work in the dugout to help his team win, providing encouragement and tips that he saw during the game and leading by example.
“Nico was dealing today, just giving up two runs in six innings,” Grogan said. “He was just dealing. That’s the best I’ve ever seen him pitch, or in the first game of this tournament. He was just mowing them down. It means a lot for us to get in the championship game.
“I think it was a really clean game all-around and everyone played great.”
Others giving their support via their play or encouragement, included Eamon Muldoon, Gavin Smith, Quinn Robbinson, Graham Johnson and Johnny Burke.
