By Bobby Narang- No Photos Allowed by Tournament Director.
JOLIET – Slow starts have been part of the norm for the 13U Illinois Wolves baseball team this season.
So has been amazing comebacks.
The Wolves have toggled a fine line of starting off behind in the first few innings, but then mounting an impressive comeback to leave their fans bewildered at their inconsistent ways.
Oftentimes, the sluggish starts by the Wolves get overlooked due to the electric and thrilling bounce-back comebacks.
Sunday, on Mother’s Day, featured both the lows and highs of the Wolves’ 2025 season. After a highlight-filled and awe-inspiring come-from-behind victory after trailing by several runs in their opener on Sunday, the Wolves experienced the other side of the coin in the nightcap.
The Renegades scored six runs in the top of the first inning to cruise to a 12-5 victory over the Wolves on the third and final day of the Miss Gloria Mother’s Day Tournament. on Sunday night. Illinois Wolves coach Brandin Muniz did not hold back his disappointment regarding his team’s propensity for lackluster starts in many games, especially against quality teams.
The Wolves had a solid weekend that was tarnished by one bad inning that derailed a trip to the 8 p.m. title game. The Renegades racked up 16 hits and played error-free ball to hand the Wolves their fifth loss of the season. Meanwhile, the Wolves managed nine hits and committed a pair of costly errors in the first inning.
“Right now, it’s like a roller-coaster because we go up and down and go up and go down,” Muniz said. “I think the inconsistency is going to be our Achilles’ heel because you just don’t know what team we are going to get out there. The last game today we sparked right immediately in the first half. This game was error after error.”
Unlike previous comeback this season, the Wolves couldn’t generate significant offense to mount a rally. Regardless, the Wolves did have a few moments that displayed the team’s heart and grit, but the visitors were just more focused and attentive to the small details of the game that brought down the Wolves.
Perhaps the biggest highlight for the Wolves came via a thunderous solo home run by Julien Duque in the bottom of the fifth inning which sliced the deficit to 10-5. After striking out in his first at-bat, the left-hander barreled up on the second pitch of his second at-bat, belting a shot over the right-field fence for his first home run of the season.
“Before I stepped up to the plate, I told myself not to swing at the high ones because in my first at-bat I swung and struck out,” Duque said. “I watched the first ball come in and it was little inside, so I took that. Then, I saw that fastball down the middle, in the low zone where I like it. I swung hard. At first, I thought it might have been a popout to the (warning) track. It felt like a home run, but their rightfielder kept moving back and back. I thought it was a flyout, but then I saw it go over the fence.
“It felt really good. It was definitely my farthest home run (ever). I realized it was a home run when I rounded first base. It was amazing and fun.”
The Illinois Wolves catcher usually bats near the bottom of the order, but he showed his potential with a blast that brought all of his teammates off the bench to greet him at home plate.
“Julien is figuring out what he needs to do and he made the adjustment,” Muniz said. “He saw a good pitch and he went after it. He’s confident right now and that showed in his home run. He corrected it and hit that nice home run.”
At the bottom of the lineup, Auggie Ruffolo provided some electricity with a 2-for-2 game, including am line-drive single and a one-bagger up the middle.
“I just kept my foot down and getting ready early because it was fast pitcher and just barreled it,” Ruffolo said. “I like hitting in the bottom of the order because they don’t know me as well and I know I can drive the ball. I did fine in our first game but felt I could’ve done better, so it was nice to help the team in the second game.”
Jackson Martin had a productive day at the plate with an RBI groundout in the first inning, a single to centerfield and a stolen base. Matthew Wiskowski added an RBI single to cut the gap to 6-2.
The visiting team feasted on the Wolves’ pitching, though. The Wolves fell into a deep hole at 10-3 in the fourth inning. Johnny Burke provided some sunshine on the cold night, smacking a run-scoring triple. The Wolves did have a few defensive gems in the defeat, namely second baseman Fred Sackley’s leaping grab to end a scoring threat. Third baseman Graham Johnson showed off his heart by playing most of the game with a knee injury, which caused him to labor on the basepaths. Johnson had a big-time play on a slow grounder to third base, scooping up the ball and firing a laser to first for an out in the top of the fourth.
Duque said the Wolves have to learn the value of starting games on the right foot rather than relying on comebacks.
“We had a good game in the morning and came out strong and did what we had to do to get in this game,” Duque said. “I think we lost this game in the first inning and had a couple of errors and I made a big mistake when I missed that changeup.”
