By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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LISLE – All signs pointed to a tough evening for the Illinois-Lisle Wolves 12U AAA Black baseball team on Tuesday night.
Right before the start of the Wolves’ home game against Devils Baseball Club Black, which is based out of Hinsdale, the storm clouds rolled in and created an ominous setting at Lisle Community Park.
The forecast called for intermittent rain with the possibility of thunder.
Well, the thunder arrived just a few pitches into the game, when the first batter for Devils Baseball drilled a solo home run over the fence against Illinois Wolves’ starting pitcher Michael Petrbok.
But the left-hander buckled down and showed poise beyond his years, settling down to pitch a gem and help guide his team to a thrilling comeback victory.
The Illinois Wolves bounced back with three runs in the first two innings to record a 4-1 victory over Devils Baseball Club Black on Tuesday night.
The contest was delayed for a short period due to a lightning strike in the area but resumed and finished in just over two hours. The Illinois Wolves were all happy for the game to be played, winning their second game in a row. The Illinois Wolves return to action for a buys Thursday to complete a postponed game against the Chicago Select 12U and then battle Longshots Teal 12U at 7:45 p.m.
Head coach Brandin Muniz praised his entire team for showing toughness after falling into an early deficit, determination and resiliency to win the game and handling the various weather conditions.
“We left a lot of guys on base,” Muniz said from the dugout following the game. “We usually don’t do that. Usually, our games are very high scoring. We produce a lot of runs, but not tonight. We left them on the basepaths today. Our pitching really knuckled down. Our pitching is very deep, so teams are going to have a tough time scoring runs against us. If we can get a handful of runs, it will always be in our favor.”
The Wolves received a stellar effort from their three pitchers to keep Hinsdale at bay from the first-inning home run. Petrbok, a left-hander, settled down to toss an excellent three innings, mixing his pitches to keep the visitors off-balanced during his time on the mound.
Petrbok pitched the first three innings, facing 14 batters to set the stage for his teammates to match his strong showing on the mound. Petrbok also drilled a deep double for his lone hit, while also walking once to round out a great game.
“I was feeling good at the start, but after that home run by the first batter of the game I was feeling little bit nervous,” Petrbok said. “I was mad about that, but after that I started hitting my spots. I was happy after I started pitching good. After that home run, I was good. It’s nice to beat Hinsdale.”
Christian Slazak came on in relief in the fourth inning, slamming the door shut on Hinsdale with a powerful fastball. The 5-foot-9 Slazak was overpowering on the mound, his size and strength and fastball, along with a nice mix of other pitches, helped his team build some momentum. Slazak also pitched three innings, helping the game go on a fast rhythm due to being able to mow down the visitors with ease. He only faced 11 batters. Slazak also drove in a run with an RBI flyout to finish 1-for-3 from the plate. He smacked a single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth to round out an awesome all-around day on the mound and at the plate.
“I felt good,” Slazak said. “My fastball was feeling good. We were happy to come out and beat this team. My pitching has been good so far.”
Nico Villanueva closed out the game with ease, taking on a different role than his normal starting spot. He battled against four hitters to earn the save in one inning of work. Villanueva was also a star at the plate, leading the offense with two hits and two runs scored.
“I felt good on the mound,” Villanueva said. “Last season I was in the championship game against Hinsdale and they ended our season for us. I wanted to do well and wanted some revenge. My curveball was working the best. It felt good to throw it tonight. I really wanted to win this.”
Overall, Muniz said his three pitchers controlled the game with their control and toughness, while tossing praise at his catcher, Tyler Sokolnicki, for handling the staff.
“All three pitchers did a great job,” Muniz said. “Our catcher, Tyler Sokolnicki, did a great job of keeping everything in front of me. Our entire outfield did a great job, especially with the wind blowing so heavily. They did a great job of reading the ball and I give the Devils some credit for putting one out right away. It was a shocker. We tried to get all of our pitches going outside.”
Eamon Muldoon was one of the heroes in the game, making several stellar plays at second base to keep Hinsdale from mounting rallies. He also had one hit and walked once at the plate to be a key figure in the victory.
“It felt good to help the team and play well on defense,” he said. “I like fielding and playing second. Last year I played a lot of outfield and didn’t get much action. It feels good to see more action in the action. It felt really good to help our team out and closing out the inning.”
The Wolves did just about everything right in this game including a highlight-reel catch to his right by Gavin Smith to stop an early-inning threat.
The entire team contributed to the highlight-filled victory against Hinsdale, including Gavin Smith, Eamon Muldoon, Griff Sinkovich, Tyler Sokolnicki, Graham Johnson, Jacob Stary, Christian Slazak, Johnny Burke, Brian Grogan, Nico Villanueva, Quinn Robinson, Auggie Ruffolo and Michael Petrbok.