Baseball: Warren's Davila a delight to coach

There are some athletes that coaches like to coach … and some, well, not so much.

Then there are athletes like Ryan Davila, a standout pitcher and hitter for the Warren baseball team.

"You just really love kids like Ryan," Warren coach Clint Smothers said. "He's so easy to coach. It's just fun coaching him."

Davila is putting up superstar numbers this season, both on the mound and at the plate. But the senior and third-year varsity starter certainly doesn't expect the star treatment.

And that's part of his charm.

"Ryan is one of those throw-back kids, hard-nosed and blue-collared," Smothers said. "He doesn't take a day off or a play off. He comes early, he works hard at his game, and he doesn't think he's too good to do all the little things like put the tarps down or rake the field.

"He is going to do anything you ask."

It's because baseball truly is a love for Davila. Every part of it is special to him. Even cleaning up the field after games is part of the experience for Davila.

"My dad played baseball, I grew up playing baseball my whole life," said Davila, whose father Jim was a pitcher at Waukegan High School and then Northern Illinois. "I enjoy everything about baseball. I like to take pride (in the field) and I like to work hard at my game. I just love the game."

The game has certainly been loving Davila this season.

He is the Blue Devils' ace pitcher with a nasty curveball and is 5-0 on the mound so far with wins over two of the toughest opponents on the schedule: Notre Dame and New Trier. He has 56 strikeouts in 8 games, and has given up just 10 walks and 10 hits over 37 innings. He has an anemic 0.38 ERA. He had a season-high 13 strikeouts against Lake Zurich last month.

At the plate, as Warren's clean-up hitter, Davila is batting .353 with 23 hits and 10 doubles. He's driven in 16 runs.

"I thought I might do pretty well this season, but I didn't expect to do this well," Davila said. "I think a lot of it has to do with some of the extra work I'm putting in."

Davila is working with both a strength coach and a pitching coach on his own time.

Through kettle bell and explosive training with coach Rob Rayl, Davila has added muscle, and in turn to the velocity of his pitches. Clocked in the low 80s last year, Davila is now consistently hitting the upper 80s on his pitches.

Meanwhile, his pitching coach, John Snelton, has helped him perfect his control and repertoire of pitches.

"I've done a lot of work on my change-up and I feel like I have a good mix now of command and velocity," Davila said. "I have more confidence on the mound."

Davila is confident he will pitch at the Division I level someday.

But he's likely going to take the scenic route, just like his dad did. Before Jim Davila pitched at Northern Illinois, he pitched at the College of Lake County.

Ryan Davila is planning to pitch at Heartland Community College in downstate Normal next year, even though his performances this season have now piqued the interest of Division I coaches.

"My dad is always encouraging me to do whatever I can do to get better at the game," Davila said. "He told me that I could get a lot better at Heartland and have (even better Division I options next year).

"He thinks that way might be best for me because it worked for him."

As much as Davila is ready to move on to the next level, he's not quite ready to end his career at Warren, which was 18-5 through Wednesday. He's having way too much fun.

"My team is great we are doing so well," Davila said. "The pitching has been outstanding, our hitting has been great. I just love all of my teammates. I'm having so much fun with them."

The feeling on Davila is likely mutual.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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