The cold, hard truth about Grant's Stroup

Talk about a head freeze.

Grant pitcher Kyle Stroup was out of commission for Tuesday's game at North Chicago because he had a run in with his freezer. Literally.

"You know when you've got a refrigerator that has the freezer door on top and you open up both the freezer and the refrigerator at the same time? Well, Kyle did that, bent down to look in the frig and then hit his head on the freezer door as he stood up," Grant coach Mike Mizwicki said with a chuckle. "He didn't need stitches, but I guess he hit up against it pretty hard."

While a run-in with the freezer door isn't a very a glamorous injury, it also shouldn't be a lingering one either. And that's good news for the Bulldogs.

Stroup, who is being evaluated by scads of major-league scouts on an almost daily basis, is still scheduled to pitch Grant's game today against Glenbrook North.

It will be just his third appearance of the season. Stroup is 1-1 so far and has missed some of his starts due in part to games cancelled for inclement weather.

At the same time, because of the kind of pitcher he is, Stroup has also gotten more days than usual between starts.

"As a pitcher, the harder you throw, the more rest (between starts) you're going to need," Mizwicki said. "And Kyle throws really, really hard. Every time he pitches, we have a very good chance to win."

In just two games, Stroup has rolled up 23 strikeouts and has issued just 2 walks.

Two for one: Everyone likes the convenience of one-stop shopping.

That's the message Grant coach Mike Mizwicki is trying to relay to all the coaches and scouts who are constantly hanging out at his team's practices and games.

They're there to check out the highly regarded arm of pitcher Kyle Stroup, but Mizwicki thinks they should also be checking out the arm of the player who is playing catch with Stroup: catcher Gerik Wallsten.

"I think Gerik's one of the best I've seen in this area in terms of catchers," Mizwicki said. "He can hit the ball for power and he's batting around .400 right now. He blocks the ball really well, he's fast and he's also really smart."

But even though Mizwicki believes Wallsten, who runs a 6.9-second 60, could play baseball at the Division I level, the offers aren't coming in yet.

Some of that might have to do with Wallsten's height. He's only 5-foot-10. But Mizwicki says that recruiting trends are likely a bigger factor.

"It seems like so many (college) coaches are wanting to go with junior college catchers -- maybe for maturity or experience or something like that," Mizwicki said. "I think Gerik's kind of in that trap. And I mean, that's kind of funny because I watch college games and the coaches end up calling most of the pitches anyway. I don't think you necessarily need to go to junior college first to handle that."

The junior college route doesn't suit Wallsten academically either. Mizwicki says Wallsten is making very good grades and is motivated to matriculate to a four-year school.

"I think we'll get that to happen with baseball eventually," Mizwicki said. "There are way too many pro scouts watching us that someone will see what he's doing at the plate."

Liking lefties: Of the three top pitchers at Grant, two are lefties -- Ryan Thorsen and David Dickinson.

And that's all right with head coach Mike Mizwicki.

"We like that because lefties kind of throw hitters off," Mizwicki said. "And you can control the run game better with lefties."

Going into the season, Mizwicki figured that Thorsen would join Kyle Stroup at the top of the rotation. But he wasn't sure about Dickinson.

"When we were practicing inside, he just looked so much different than he does now," Mizwicki said of Dickinson. "I'm not sure why, but he wasn't getting nearly as much movement on the ball. And he wasn't getting the strikes he is now. Now, he looks like a completely different pitcher. He's playing great. He's throwing the ball really well."

So far, Dickinson is 2-1 on the season and boasts less than a .200 in opponent batting average.

Pressure's off: After starting out the season with a slow bat, Grayslake Central junior Kurt Schmidt has sped up his production significantly.

His batting average was hovering below .300, and now he's leading the team with a .440 average. In the last week alone, Schmidt went 10-for-15 at the plate with a home run, 2 triples and 3 doubles.

The biggest difference?

A change in perspective.

"Kurt knew coming in that we considered him the best hitter on the team and I think he was putting a lot of pressure on himself," Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen said. "I think he started out the season trying too hard to get hits, thinking about it too much. I think he's realized that wasn't working and he's moved past that mindset. He's gone back to just playing baseball and letting things come to him. That's taken a lot of the pressure off."

Nice mix: On a team dripping with 'diaper dandies,' Grayslake Central's also got some 'oldies but goodies.'

The Rams usually start anywhere between four to six sophomores, which makes them arguably the youngest team in Lake County.

Sophomores Kevin DeRue, Mitch Tielke, Angelo Gargano, Mike Gentile, Jackson White and Josh DeAngelis have all been impressive so far this season.

But Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen is quick to point out that the play of his seniors -- particularly two who were relative unknowns as juniors -- is just as responsible for the team's quick start.

As of Tuesday, the Rams were 11-4.

"It's nice to see the young guys doing so well. It's exciting," Whalen said. "But we wouldn't be where we are today without our seniors."

The Rams are getting just what they expected out of senior veterans such as Matt Schmidt and Shawn Tobie, but have been pleasantly surprised by Jordaan Williams and Nick Tielke, two seniors who had only 12 varsity at-bats between them last season.

Now, Tielke, who is the Rams' first baseman, is leading the team with a .530 batting average. And Williams, who starts in center field, is hitting .500.

"Those two guys are doing great and they're providing us with outstanding leadership, too," Whalen said. "A lot of people are making a lot out of our young guys, but I think we've blended together pretty well. We have a nice mix of young and old guys who are really contributing for us."

All in the family: Like sister, like brother.

The Snyder family of Grayslake is all about pitching.

Two years ago, Anna Snyder was a star pitcher for the softball team at Grayslake Central and earned a spot on the squad at Aurora University.

Now, it's brother Aaron's turn. And his career has taken off quickly.

Last year, he threw just one varsity inning for the Rams. This year, he's the team's ace.

"We knew going into the season that he'd have that kind of potential," Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen said. "At that point, it's kind of hard to call a kid your ace when he's got such little experience, but that's what he's become."

This season, Snyder got his first win in dramatic fashion by no-hitting Waukegan. He also got wins over Cary-Grove and Johnsburg.

So far, Snyder is carrying a 1.43 ERA. In 25 innings, he's rolled up 28 strikeouts and given up just 6 walks.

"Aaron put a lot of time in over the off-season," Whalen said. "Last year, he was throwing 75 (mph) and this year, he's already topped out at 86. He's made a lot of improvements like that."

Strength in numbers: Losing junior Tanner Witt to an unusual arm injury last week is a double whammy for Lake Zurich.

Witt, the starting shortstop, was also a formidable pitcher and could have provided some solid innings.

The good news for the Bears is that pitching depth happens to be one of their strengths this year.

Besides Witt, Brock Simon, Joey DeBernardis, Dan Zummo, Ryan Morrill and Ricky Erickson are all top-notch pitchers. They've each had solid appearances this season.

In fact, just one week ago, Morrill pitched a perfect game for Lake Zurich in a 10-0 victory over Zion-Benton.

In five innings, Morrill faced 15 batters and retired all 15, rolling up 10 strikeouts in the process.

"I've never had anyone throw a perfect game before," said Lake Zurich coach Gary Simon, still giddy about it. "I was on Cloud Nine. I was mad during the game, though, because I could hear a couple of our guys (in the dugout) going, 'I think (Morrill) has a no-hitter going.' And I was like, 'Shut up about that. You're not supposed to say that.' I mean, you don't want a pitcher thinking about that while the game is going on."

While no one else in the Lake Zurich rotation has thrown a perfect game, Simon says his other pitchers are still making life tough on opposing batters.

"Brock has been pitching real well lately. People are having a tough time hitting him," Simon said about his son. "And Joey (DeBernardis) is just Joey. He's pitching so well and is a real leader on our team.

"Zummo is doing well, too and we've got Ricky Erickson shutting down people in relief. If we had Tanner in there too, we'd be sitting really pretty. But as it is, we've got five frontline pitchers and most teams usually only have three."

Dynamic duo: While Lake Zurich has been riding five pitchers, Mundelein has gotten most of its wins from Eric Rohe and Justin Piasecki, who have tallied 11 of the team's 15 wins (as of Tuesday).

Rohe is a perfect 7-0 while Piasecki, who was slowed at the beginning of the season with a knee injury, is 4-0.

"Pi has had a couple of really good outings lately," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said of Piasecki, who got his most recent win on Tuesday against Lake Forest. "He's really bounced back quickly and is getting back into form.

"With him back, the season has really kind of played out the way we thought it would. We knew that we would be young except for the two experienced pitchers (Rohe and Piasecki) that we had back. We were hoping that they would lead us and they have."

More, More, More: Of course, Mundelein coach Todd Parola is anxious to find a couple of more leaders on the mound.

Pitching depth will come in handy this season since the bad weather of the early spring caused a lot of cancellations that are frantically being made up now. Many area teams are playing five to six games a week just to catch up.

And as much as he'd like to, Parola can't pitch horses Eric Rohe and Justin Piasecki every other game.

"We need a third and fourth starter to step up, without a doubt," Parola said. "We've had some real decent outings from two of our juniors, Jay Mueller and Ian McDermott. At times, they've shown some really good signs. We just have to get them to do it consistently."

Mueller and McDermott have gotten three starts apiece and have combined to win four of six games.

Mueller had a solid performance against a tough Carbondale team downstate over Spring Break. Meanwhile, McDermott held Wauconda to one run and pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Fenton downstate.

"We know they can both do great things like that," Parola said. "And they're both going to continue to get their innings so they can show what they can do. But at this point, they're still learning. They're still pretty young."

Good team: It's only fitting that David Ershbock and Tony Milianti teamed up to get Round Lake's only win thus far -- a victory over Zion-Benton a week ago.

The two pitchers have been two of the most stabilizing influences in a rather up-and-down season for the 1-9 Panthers.

The upside is that Round Lake has put together a lot of solid innings of baseball and that both Ershbock and Milianti are pitching well. The downside is that errors continue to plague the Panthers.

In a recent game against Lake Zurich, Round Lake jumped to an early 1-0 lead. But the Panthers wound up losing the game by committing 12 errors.

"We keep shooting ourselves in the foot," Round Lake coach Fred Colon said. "I don't think we have any toes left. It's usually one inning that does us in and it just snowballs. We've got to cut down the errors. It's a struggle, but we're not giving up."

Ershbock and Milianti give the Panthers plenty of reason not to.

"They're both pitching so well," Colon said. "They work the batters, they're getting ahead of batters, they're throwing strikes. They're doing a great job.

"Now, we just have to get the other eight guys out there to do their part."