By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – The Illinois Wolves 13U baseball team closed out an impressive week in impressive fashion.
Big surprise, right?
The 2025 season, for the Wolves’ players, coaches and fans, has been all about highlight after highlight. After dropping their first game of the season in the title game in a two-day tournament in Wisconsin last Sunday, the Wolves took out their frustration on their next five opponents.
Five games. Five victories.
Saturday was just another example of the Wolves’ overall talent, depth and strong chemistry. The Wolves put a 10-spot on the board in the top of the first inning, rolling to a 19-5 victory over the Arlington Heights Cardinals on a dark and cool Saturday afternoon.
Illinois Wolves assistant coach Grant Johnson said the players responded with the right answers following their first “L” of the season.
“The championship game last week was a wake-up call,” Johnson said. “We had an emotional semifinal game and we came out a little bit down. On Monday, they turned it around and played well all week, hit the ball well and fielded well. We’re back in the groove again.”
“I think it’s actually a good thing once in a while to have a disappointing loss. It made us refocused and get fired up to go back on the field. We turned it around and refocused and got back after it.”
Just a few batters into Saturday’s game, the Wolves showed they were in complete control and command. Despite jumping out to a 10-0 lead, the Wolves remained motivated and hungry to keep scoring runs.
The Wolves finished with 19 hits and took advantage of three errors by the home team. The Wolves added four runs in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth in the four-inning route.
Fred Sackley had a big game at the plate, compiling two hits, scoring three runs and driving in a run. Christian Slazak, who retired two batters in a short day of work on the mound, was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI.
Graham Johnson started the game for the Wolves, pitching one and one-third innings and striking out two. He was a big star at the plate, batting 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored.
Jackson Martin had another strong game, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Brady Madded added two doubles.
The Wolves used a plethora of pitchers in the blowout victory, even letting Auggie Ruffolo close out the game with the last two innings. Ruffolo said he hasn’t pitched in over a year, but he was happy with his performance. He struck out a batter to end a threat in the third inning.
The last of three pitchers to hit the mound for the Wolves, Ruffolo fanned two batters and gave up five hits in two innings. Matthew Wiskowski made a great catch in the outfield to end the game for the Wolves in the fourth.
“I haven’t pitched since last year,” Ruffolo said. “I couldn’t (pitch) in practices because I would have to go to hockey. I felt good. I felt I have gotten better since last year, especially since I was a lot faster. My fastball was really working. My curveball I hit some of them with good pitches.”
Ruffolo also came up big at the plate, driving in two runs with single to right field in the first inning.
“I was happy with my hit too,” Ruffolo said. “I saw the first two pitches were fastballs, so I knew the curveball was coming and swung hard. It’s been a fun season. I know I hit in the bottom of the order, but I like it better because we get a lot of people on base, so I can drive in a lot of runs.”
Illinois Wolves outfielder Payton Swartzendruber, who also plays shortstop, had a strong game at the plate on Saturday. Swartzendruber drilled a two-run home run over the left-field fence in the second inning, giving him a chance to practice his slow, home-run trot around the bases.
“Well, the coaches told me to crowd the plate because he was throwing more outside,” Swartzendruber said. “The first pitch was very good, so I swung and slammed it to left field. I think I’m out of my slump for hitting. It feels really good to win this game. We were in our heads little bit last Sunday, and came out this week angry with the loss and been playing really good. I felt pretty good out there.”
