Warriors win first seven games of the season.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Starts to the season don’t get much better than the one the Willowbrook baseball team got off to.
The Warriors kicked off the 2017 season by going a perfect 7-0 in their first seven contests.
A recent stretch started with an 8-3 victory over Batavia. Willowbrook scored four runs in the second inning and four more in the sixth inning and had nine hits in the contest.
Jon Kelso went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Ben Espinoza scored a run, had an RBI and walked three times. Mike Dembrowski went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ryan Mintz scored two runs and had an RBI. Dembrowski and Alex Michaelson each had a double.
Michaelson was the winning pitcher. He went the first 5 2/3 innings and allowed only three hits while striking out 10 in a game played at Wheaton College’s Pfund Field.
Willowbrook then downed West Chicago by an 11-1 count in five innings. Willowbrook scored nine runs over the third and fourth innings and had 13 hits.
Espinoza had a run scored, two hits, two RBI and two walks. Kelso had two hits and an RBI. MJ Ranieri scored two runs and had an RBI. Michaelson went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBI. Jack Hines went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. John Taylor went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Marshall McDonnell went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Michaelson, Espinoza and Hines each had a double, while Taylor had a triple.
Ryan Mintz was the winning pitcher. He threw a five-inning complete game and allowed only two hits, while striking out five.
In a 10-0 win over Glenbard East, Willowbrook jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings. The game was halted after six innings due to the 10-run rule. Willowbrook had 12 hits.
Espinoza went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI and two walks. Kelso was 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Kyle Ferguson went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Dembrowski went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Trevor Jaloszynski went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Michaelson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Mintz was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Espinoza had a double. Willowbrook stole six bases with Kelso swiping three.
Jack Nilles was the winning pitcher. He went the distance, throwing a six-inning complete game. He allowed only two hits and struck out five and walked none. He faced three batters more than the minimum.
Willowbrook capped off the week with a 10-9 win over Tinley Park Andrew.
Dan Gusel’s double in the bottom of the seventh gave Willowbrook the win, completing a late-game comeback. Willowbrook trailed 9-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning and scored nine runs over the final two innings to pull out the win.
The Warriors had nine hits in the game. Ferguson had two RBI. Ranieri went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Michaelson went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Mintz scored two runs. Gusel, Ranieri and Mason Kamp each had a double.
Scott Kohrt was the winning pitcher in relief. He pitched two innings. Jack Hines started the game and went three innings, while Will Hines pitched two innings.
Willowbrook coach Vic Wisner noted the win against Batavia was notable due to the Warriors defeating the opposition’s star pitcher.
“Batavia has a big returning pitcher. There were a lot of professional scouts there,” he said. “He’s a big kid who I think is going to Louisville for college. We made him put the ball in the zone and we sat on his fastball and were able to put the ball in play. He was out by the second inning.”
Michaelson, coming off an outstanding summer, moved to 2-0 with the win against Batavia. “We’re getting really good pitching right now,” said Wisner earlier last week. “We have three sophomores pitching after Alex. Ryan Mintz won his first two games. Will Hines and Scotty Kohrt are seniors who have thrown the ball well. With this new pitch count you are going to have to use a lot of guys and we have a relatively deep pitching staff.”
Wisner has been equally impressed with the team’s progress at the plate. “Jon Kelso had a phenomenal football season and that’s carrying into the baseball season,” he said. “He started out hitting about .800. He’s so fast and can steal bases. Alex Michaelson has stood out hitting-wise as well. Kyle Ferguson is a three-year varsity starter and has helped us. All the way through the lineup we are bunting and moving guys along. Our lineup has done a great job. We have a deep team. We haven’t been this deep in a long time. We had some flu hurt us during the break and some guys came off the bench and did great. That is going to make us play better because the starting guys know there are other guys breathing down their back. It’s great because right now almost all the guys have double-digit at-bats.”
Wisner added the team is carrying the momentum from a highly successful summer season into the spring.
“We had something like a 20-game winning streak toward the end of summer,” he said. “They understand all the hard work has to happen in practice. They are super-coachable and attack every practice with zeal. Our practices are fast-paced. These guys are ready to go. It doesn’t surprise me that we are starting this way.”
Willowbrook has the majority of the week off with the new West Suburban Conference scheduling format. This is the Warriors’ bye week in the conference. Willowbrook returns to action Saturday with a WSC crossover contest against Oak Park-River Forest.
