Baseball: Willowbrook bats in the swing of things against Glenbard South
After weeks of practice, the season and home opener finally arrived for the Willowbrook baseball team Friday, and the Warriors were glad for a chance to swing their bats against an opponent.
And swing they did. The Warriors (1-0) belted out 13 hits in a 16-0 five-inning nonconference victory over Glenbard South.
"We were just looking for our pitches and wanted to start off strong," said Willowbrook shortstop Jack Hines, who smashed a 2-run triple in the Warriors' 8-run fourth. "It's so much better playing a game."
What makes coaches happy is a lineup that belts hits with 0-2 counts. Willowbrook coach Vic Wisner is no exception.
"We did a lot with two strikes. I think we had five or six hits with two strikes and that's super important," he said.
The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning. Willowbrook was the visiting team because the game had been moved from Glenbard South due to field conditions.
The Warriors took a 4-0 lead on four hits. Ryan Mintz and Danny Holloway came through with RBI singles during their team's offensive burst.
Willowbrook broke the game open in the fourth with eight runs on three hits. Besides Hines' 2-run triple that inning, teammate Trevor Jaloszynski singled in two runs, Scott Tumilty doubled in a run and Sam Tumilty's sacrifice fly scored another score.
The Warriors made it another 4-run inning in the fifth thanks to RBI groundouts by Anthony Yannotti and Jack Nilles. Matt Tuma's single brought home another run.
The winning pitcher for Willowbrook was Dax Meyer, who worked the third and fourth innings. He struck out three. Mintz, a senior, started and pitched the first two innings. Senior Ethan Pieniazek pitched the final inning.
"Our pitchers were fantastic. We used a pitcher every other inning like they (Glenbard South) did. Our pitchers threw a lot of strikes," Wisner said. "We got a lot of seniors in with this being their last home opener."
Glenbard South's record fell to 0-2. Drew Vozza, Jack Dupuis and Michael Nathe were responsible for the Raiders' 3 hits.
"Any time you go up against a good team like Willowbrook, you have to bring your 'A' game, all facets," said Raiders coach Marco Eufrasio. "We just have to improve. We'll keep grinding. We have started off slow the past few years. We'll get better. It will be a tough road, but we'll keep working."