Welcome to Neuqua Valley’s own spin on the Rookie Symposium.
As Robin Renner prepares to take his program to its 10th sectional come Wednesday opposite Plainfield East at Oswego, he does so while relying heavily on some “rookies.”
“The rookies. Yeah, that’s what they call us,” sophomore right-hander Ricky Castro said of himself and fellow sophomore James Kulak.
Behind the work of Kulak and Castro, the Wildcats (23-13) own a sixth regional title since 2009 and have eyes set on ruining what will be a Southwest Prairie Conference party.
Five SPC schools won regional titles this past Saturday, including Plainfield East after finishing fifth in the conference during the regular season.
Three other Plainfield schools – top-seeded Plainfield North, 12th-seeded Plainfield Central and 10th-seeded Plainfield East – are joining DuPage Valley Conference newcomer Neuqua Valley at Oswego.
Two days after Kulak fanned 10 in 5 1/3 innings in a 3-2 victory over Bolingbrook, Castro bested Naperville Central last Saturday with five innings of two-run ball, striking out six.
Six days after starting the biggest game of his young career, Kulak likely will do so against the Bengals while armed with a 6-2 record and a 1.59 ERA.
For Renner, the reasons for the success Kulak and Castro have enjoyed this early aren’t too hard to understand.
“Well, Ricky really has pounded the strike zone more and more,” Renner said. “Both of them have – Kulak has really done the same thing. When they first started, they’d get to 3-2 on everybody – they’d walk four or five guys in a game.
“Now that’s not happening and they’re attacking the zone with their off-speed pitch much more than they were earlier in the season. They’ve certainly grown since April.”
Kevin Ringlein, James Gargano and Will Drake lead a Wildcats’ offense that features four players who have played in at least 36 games and are hitting at least .299.
At .398 with 23 RBI, Ringlein is a power bat to go along with Will Drake, who’s not far behind at .330 and 28 RBI.
No matter who gets the ball for the Bengals – Mitch Koran and Joe Antonopolous have combined for 19 starts – Bengals’ coach Adam O’Reel is keenly aware of who makes the Wildcats go.
“That’s the name I keep hearing is the shortstop, the leadoff hitter,” O’Reel said of Gargano, who’s hitting .362 while scoring 40 runs.
If Kulak is indeed the man on the mound for the Wildcats on Wednesday night after Plainfield Central and Plainfield North go at it, can he tame the Bengals?
Plainfield East (20-16) features four players hitting at least .296 – with Drew DeMumbrum’s .362 average leading the way.
Leadoff hitter Cole Lynch and Michael Sullivan pace the Bengals’ lineup with 22 RBI and DeMumbrum isn’t too far behind with 21 RBI.
“We’re a team that it’s kind of a new hero every day,” Plainfield East coach Adam O’Reel said. “We don’t have a constant two, three guys that light it up for us. It could be our leadoff guy one day, Cole Lynch. It could be our three-hitter, DeMumbrum sometimes, Sullivan – guys like that.
“And in fact, the Downers North game (a 7-3 Plainfield East victory on May 28), we got going because of our bottom of the lineup. We had a couple bunts, some execution on some slashes and things like that that really got us rolling. So that’s kind of the team we are. We aren’t always pretty, but we find a way somehow.”
DeMumbrum – as a freshman – was a part of the Bengals’ team that won a regional title in the 2013 IHSBCA summer state tournament.
For a program that literally has never been where it’ll step on Wednesday, the opportunity speaks for itself.
“I know Robin a little bit and I’ve played him over the years in summer ball and things like that, as well, and I know what type of team he puts out there,” O’Reel said. “And they’re not going to beat themselves. They’re going to play pretty fundamental on you.
“So you got to be ready for that because you can’t beat yourself. And that’s the biggest thing because they’ll take advantage of you in that situation if you put runners on for them.”
