Illinois Patriots 13U make strong 2018 debut
Hot bats, shut-down pitching and solid defense carried Illinois Patriots 13U Black to an 11-1 season-opening win in its West Suburban Baseball League debut against Bloomingdale.
The Patriots, affiliated with Palatine-based Dream Big Athletics, gave up an unearned run in the top of the second, but quickly rallied for five runs in its half of the inning. Tyler Przespolewski (3-for-3, 4 RBI) lashed a two-run triple to the fence in right center to give the Patriots the lead. Aggressive base running led to two more runs on a passed ball, before Ryne Campana's single made it a 5-1 game.
IP tacked on another two runs in the third inning on a sharp Przespolewski single that drove in Isaiah Ortiz. A Bloomingdale miscue on a fly ball hit by Colin Blanchard allowed Jacob Gama (two walks, three runs) to score, extending the Patriots' lead to 7-1.
That was more than enough for Patriots starting pitcher Andrew Rossini, who struck out four and allowed only one hit in his three innings of work. Ortiz needed just 21 pitches to get through two spotless innings of relief that included a pair of strikeouts.
The bats closed things out in the fifth inning thanks to a screaming leadoff triple to left field by Micah Giovenco. He came around to score on Przespolewski's third hit of the night. Blanchard (two RBI) then followed with a two-run fielder's choice and later came around as the game-clinching run for an 11-1 final score at Rahlfs Woods in Streamwood.
Every Patriot reached base at least once as the team collected 10 hits, drew five walks and had two batters hit by pitches.
"We had a lot of quality at-bats, the pitching was good, the base running was good," Coach Mike Giovenco said afterward. "It's the right way to start off the season."
The 2018 Illinois Patriots 13U Black includes: Gio Robles, Rohin Patel, Tyler Przespolewski, Carter Blanchard, Micah Giovenco, Isaiah Ortiz, Colin Blanchard, Josh Wilder, Dixon Wagner, Jacob Gama, Ryne Campana and Andrew Rossini.
After a pair of weekend rainouts, the Patriots are scheduled to visit Bartlett on Wednesday in WSBL action. The team will open its tournament season this weekend at the 2018 Dream Big Athletics Youth Baseball Showdown in Hoffman Estates.