By Patrick McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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MOUNT PROSPECT— On a team where success has been the norm, the Illinois Wolves 13U program has discovered new and novel ways to taste victory.
Contrasts and styles make teams, and the Wolves have begun to master the art of succession.
One tournament performance bleeds into another, and the team feels the exuberance and joy of wonder.
“We’re just coming off the Primetime tournament, and won it all, and that boosted our confidence through the roof,” Brady Madden said.
“We’re all confident, and we know we are capable of winning this tournament.”
Each tournament is a chance to strut their stuff.
The Wolves captured their 18th straight game with the 7-4 five-inning victory over New Trier Feeder Blue 13U in pool play of the Experience the Turf tournament at Melas Park on Friday, June 13.
The Wolves (44-5-1) have now gone a full calendar month since their last loss on May 11.
The team again illustrated their superior high end depth and two-way play. Seven different players had hits, and the team blasted four doubles in the first three innings.
Christian Slazak knocked in two runs and struck out three in his three innings of pitching.
Matthew Wiskowski also blasted a two-run double as the Wolves scored all their runs in the first three innings.
Neary half (four) of the nine hits went for extra bases. The Wolves beat New Trier 13-3 at Main Park on May 22.
The dynamic Friday was different.
“It’s a tournament, and this team didn’t want to get slaughtered again, so they threw their ace,” Slazak said. “Their pitcher threw a kind of slider, and we were waiting on that. We were just driving everything we got.”
By contrast, New Trier threatened in each of the first two innings with runners in scoring position.
Slazak worked his way through it.
“I felt like the first inning I was just letting it go,” he said. “The mounds felt a little closer to the plate, and I felt like I was throwing faster.”
The Wolves were in control from the start, but there were some hiccups.
A player was thrown out at the plate, and three others were caught trying to steal second base. Those outs prevented a potentially bigger early advantage.
“Nothing went our way, and that definitely shortened our innings,” coach Brandin Muniz said. “I thought the boys hit fine today, and most of our kids came through pretty well. Our pitching and catching were both good.”
Some uncharacteristic fielding errors allowed New Trier to tighten the score at the end.
In the first inning, Jackson Martin hit the first double that advanced Spencer Marnell to third base. Marnell, who singled, scored the first run on an error off a ground ball hit by Slazak.
In the second inning, Wiskowski delivered the decisive blow with a double that scored Michael Petrbok and Payton Swartzendruber.
“Walking into the batter’s box, I’ve changed my mindset to be more positive,” he said. “I just told myself that I know I can hit this kid, and I know I’m going to get a hit.”
Wiskowski was patient and sharp, and the New Trier pitcher served the ball in his sweet spot.
“It was a curveball low to the ground, and I really like those pitches,” Wiskowski said. “I hit those really well. I saw it, went for it, and I got a barrel on it and it went over the center fielder.”
Auggie Ruffolo drove home Wiskowski with another hard single.
Variety is the spice of the game.The Wolves get to flex their muscles, and show off all the different facets of their skills.
“Playing all of these tournaments keeps us active, and it lets us show what we can to other teams,” Wiskowski said.
The past matters. The mentality is to do whatever is necessary.
“With tournaments, you always want to get those early wins so you can get into bracket play,” Wiskowski said. “There’s a lot more pressure, and motivation to win.”
After throwing a complete-game seven inning masterpiece in the championship game of the Primetime tournament Sunday, Slazak was done after just three innings.
“Tournament games are different because we tend to pull pitchers early,” Muniz said. “We tend not to go hard at them, because you’re essentially playing chess. You’re trying to play four or five games. We’re moving pieces around more than we normally would if it were a regular-season game.”
The Wolves closed out their scoring with three runs in the third.
A Fred Sackley double followed by a walk to Marnell set the stage for an RBI single by Martin. Slazak followed with an RBI double. Graham Johnson drove home the final run with an infield RBI deep into shortstop that scored Martin.
Martin finished 2-for-2 with the run scored and RBI. Slazak was 1-for-2 with two RBI, the identical hitting line for Wiskowski. Petrbok also had a hit for the Wolves.
“We had the tournament last week, and then we had a doubleheader on Tuesday, and we just need to play more games and stay sharp,” Slazak said. “This is a good way to get more games in.”
The Wolves’ performance was marred by atypical shoddy defense and three errors that allowed New Trier to score a run in the fourth inning, and push across three runs in the fifth inning.
Swartzendruber threw well. His defense failed to back him up.
“We gifted them those runs with the errors,” Muniz said. “We didn’t capitalize when we should have, and that’s what made the score closer than it should have been. We don’t want to give up too many runs, but we’re comfortable with where we’re at. I don’t necessarily like taking our foot off the gas. We’re playing the long game.”
The Wolves had many standout contributors in the 7-4 pool play victory over New Trier.
Center fielder Jonny Burke made several standout defensive plays. Julien Duque also showed off his versatility by starting the game at first base, and shifting to catcher for the final two innings.
