Wheaton Academy's Lindstedt shuts down St. Edward
After serving as the baseball team's closer last spring, Wheaton Academy pitcher Jake Lindstedt is making quite a nice transition to the starting rotation.
The Warriors senior tossed a shutout last week in Florida and was tough to hit again in Monday's Metro Suburban Conference contest with visiting St. Edward. The Green Wave pushed across a run in the top of the first without the benefit of hit but failed to score again. The Warriors prevailed 5-1 behind 5⅔ innings of 1-hit ball from Lindstedt (2-0).
While Lindstedt and reliever Chris Johnson were limiting St. Edward (2-4, 2-1) to just one run and two singles on the day, the 5-2 Warriors scored a single run in each of the first five innings. Green Wave starter Alex Lara (1-1) was not hit all that hard, but some untimely fielding errors and wild pitches allowed the Warriors to tally more than enough runs to get Lindstedt and his team the win in their conference opener.
"It's been a nice transition for me to be able to get a little more work out there on the mound," said Lindstedt, who recorded 6 strikeouts. "I was labeled as the closer a little early, but I didn't get into enough of those situations last year. It's just nice to be in the rotation this year."
Lara, the leadoff hitter, walked to open the game and then swiped a pair of bases and scored on a wild pitch as St. Edward took a 1-0 lead without getting a hit. But that was the only run the visitors could muster. Wheaton Academy quickly drew even when Johnson singled home R.W. Rienow, who had singled and stolen a base in the bottom of the first.
The Warriors then went ahead 2-1 in the second following a pair of errors and upped the lead to 3-1 when Luke Kram scored on a wild pitch.
That was more than enough insurance for the hard-throwing Lindstedt.
"He's a hurler, I'll say that much," Green Wave coach Tim Dovichi said. "He threw a lot of strikes and we just didn't capitalize on it. We had our opportunities just like they did and we didn't make the plays."
Wheaton Academy coach Brad Byrne, whose team went 4-1 on its recent trip to Orlando, likes his team's roster and pitching depth this season.
"We run well so we can put pressure on teams," Byrne said of his team's ability to manufacture runs even on days when hits may not come in bunches. "We can steal a base here or there and we get down the baselines hard, so that helps. We don't strike out a lot; we put the ball in play."
It also helps to have plenty of strong arms on the mound.
"I have six or seven pitchers all fighting for innings," he said. "So this is the best depth and probably the most talented team that we've had."
The two teams are set to square off again on Tuesday at St. Edward, but if the field is not in great shape, they may return to West Chicago and play again on the Warriors' new artificial turf.
"We're rusty. We need to put some oil back in to get it to start, but overall we're right where we want to be," Dovichi said.