Naperville North’s Long had the right stuff

In the midst of a spring so short that slumps quickly become seasons, Mariano Long’s sense of urgency kicked in.

There were two ways Naperville North’s baseball team could have drifted during an excruciating April slide. The Huskies could have slid further or climbed their way out of the hole.

Anyone who knows Long also knows his choice.

“We had the talent and the athletes, we were much better than we were showing,” Long said. “We could either just quit or we could do something about it. We were either going to have a good year or it was going to be dreadful.”

It’s difficult to tell definitively where it began for Long because of his stunning consistency. Regardless, behind his booming bat and ever-improving mound presence the Huskies pulled together a resounding run in the second half of the regular season.

Through the bad and the good, Long led the way with his hitting, pitching and defense in center field.

Capping a stellar three-year varsity career with dominance in every phase of the game this senior season, Long is the 2012 Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area baseball captain. He is the third Naperville North baseball player to receive the honor, joining Jerry Hairston (1994) and Russ Bayer (1997 and 1998).

“There’s nobody we would want at the plate more than him in a key part of the game,” said Huskies coach Carl Hunckler. “And there’s nobody who would want to face him on the mound at a key part of the game.”

When Naperville North lost 4-0 to Wheaton Warrenville South on April 17, the Huskies’ record stood at 5-11. Half the season was gone.

Long and his teammates were fed up.

They responded by winning 12 straight games and 16 of 18 to close the regular season. Long’s impact was clear as he won his final six starts in the DuPage Valley Conference and watched his ERA drop nearly three full points in a month.

Long managed a hit in 18 of 21 DVC games and was named the league’s player of year.

“It seemed like even when we got him out he hit it hard,” said Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling. “When he hit the ball you just hoped he’d hit it at someone.”

Back in pads

Long, a lifelong football player, was a two-sport athlete until his junior year. He decided not to play football that season in order to play fall baseball, a decision that eventually led to Long’s college commitment in August to the Air Force Academy.

Quitting football, however, wasn’t easy.

“That was probably one of the toughest decisions of my life,” he said. “Not playing football my junior year was really tough.”

So tough, in fact, that Long decided to return to football for his senior season. After last playing on the sophomore level, taking a year off and then jumping right into varsity football, he knew it wouldn’t be easy coming back.

He checked with Hunckler...

“He’s a heck of an athlete,” said Hunckler, who coached the 6-foot-1, 205-pound safety as the defensive backs coach. “I couldn’t see him getting hurt because I couldn’t see anyone being stronger than him.”

And he checked with Huskies football coach Sean Drendel...

“I knew playing college baseball was a dream of his, so when he didn’t come out as a junior I was disappointed for our team but not for him,” Drendel said. “I could tell it was really eating at him that he didn’t play. It took him a while to get acclimated to football again, but by the end of the season he was pretty darn good.”

Long, who credits the help and support of his teammates, was named to the all-DVC football team. As Hunckler expected, Long made it through physically unscathed as he prepared for his final baseball season with the Huskies.

Off he goes...

Long this season wound up batting .429 with 2 home runs, 27 RBI, 35 runs scored and a .622 slugging percentage. He went 8-2 with a mediocre 3.32 ERA, but that number dropped significantly throughout the DVC season as he dominated most teams he faced.

In many ways, though, Long’s stats still didn’t tell the full story of his impact this season.

“It all starts with his work ethic — there are no shortcuts with him,” said senior Huskies teammate Alex Moss, who has played with or against Long since they were 7 years old. “I’ve never seen a guy hit the ball that hard with such consistency. He was dominant on the mound and he can change a game with his defense. You just see him working at his game all the time.”

With that work ethic in mind, Long is making a major commitment by heading to Colorado Springs to attend the Air Force Academy. While the five-year military commitment may seem like an interesting choice, it makes perfect sense considering his family — he gives a ton of credit for his success to parents Doni and Kristina — is moving to the area and his aunt lives in Colorado Springs.

It’s also the perfect opportunity for Long, a Mormon and an Eagle Scout, to continue his dedication to charitable work within his church. Add it all up, and Long believes the Air Force Academy is ideal for him.

“I never once considered a service academy, but I just kept an open mind,” he said. “It’s not all about the baseball there, and that’s what I like about it. I think it’s going to be a great all-around experience for me.”

If it’s anything like his high school experience at Naperville North, that’s a safe bet.

As this school year showed — on the football field and the baseball diamond — Long isn’t about to shy away from a challenge.

“I’ve always taken pride in what I do,” he said. “I just plan on taking that same attitude with me to the Air Force Academy.”