Baseball: Libertyville's 'new' Klainos finishes off Mundelein
It wasn't about finishing for Ryan Klainos on Wednesday, although the Libertyville senior came one out away from pitching a complete game against the Wildcats' archrival.
It was, again, about how he's finishing his delivery. Since tweaking his mechanics a couple of weeks ago, the sturdy right-hander has looked more and more like the guy who will be playing Division I baseball for Valparaiso University.
"I was struggling a little bit early in the year, just beating myself," Klainos said. "I'd strike out kids, walk kids and then once I walked kids, they would get timely hits, and that's how they would score off me. I just changed a couple of things and I've felt more confident. I've been pounding the zone. If they hit me and they beat me that way, then props to them."
Libertyville beat visiting Mundelein 6-2 Wednesday, as Klainos went 6⅔ innings in the North Suburban Conference game. His effort came after strong outings against Waukegan and Lake Zurich in his last two starts.
"He's the story because he keeps building on each outing," coach Matt Thompson said after his Wildcats improved to 13-10 and 5-4 in the NSC, while dropping Mundelein to 10-9 and 6-3. "We're happy with his progress."
Thompson pulled Klainos after 103 pitches (2 shy of the maximum limit, per IHSA rules). Charlie Land got the final out, with two runners on, to notch the save. Klainos got high-fives from his teammates as he walked into the dugout.
"I wasn't going to complain about (being lifted) or anything," said Klainos, who exited after Andrew Schroeder (3-for-3, sacrifice fly) reached on an infield single. "Just get the team win. That's really all it came down to. I wasn't going to fight him on it."
Earlier this season, Klainos was fighting his mechanics. While Mundelein touched him for 8 hits, none were for extra bases. The 6-foot-1, 217-pounder struck out five and walked three.
"I knew I always crossed over (when delivering to the plate)," Klainos said. "But I never knew that it would make that much of a difference in my throwing. Now when I'm throwing, I just think, consciously, step to the left a little bit and then (continue) straight on and make sure I'm finishing with my back side over to the right side, and not to the left side.
"This is like a new me, new pitcher," he added. "I feel more confident now."
Andrew Kim gave Klainos an early lead, leading off the bottom of the first by pulling a Jonathan Hanscom pitch down the right-field line for his third home run of the season. Libertyville catcher Garrison Bennett (1-for-3) knocked in a run on a second-inning groundout, before Mundelein strung together singles by Jared Dorfman (1-for-3), Christian Diaz (2-for-4, RBI) and Schroeder in the third. But a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play and another swinging strike three kept the Wildcats in front 2-1.
Hanscom allowed all 6 Libertyville runs (3 earned) in 5 innings. The junior ace struck out five and walked two.
"He beat us up last year, and we were a little stronger offensively last year," Thompson said. "It feels nice. We had a good approach with him. Guys took good swings."
"They had a great game plan," Mundelein coach Randy Lerner said of the Wildcats. "They were aggressive in the box, they jumped on some of (Hanscom's) off-speed stuff, and they didn't give him a chance to really settle in. (Overall), I think Jonathan pitched well."
Dylan Drumke went 2-for-3 and Sam Paden was 1-for-2 with 2 RBI for Libertyville, which looks to complete the sweep Thursday at Mundelein. If inclement weather postpones the game, Lerner said it would likely be moved to Saturday because Mundelein has prom Friday night.