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Naperville
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Pitching Gives Naperville Central Reason To Believe In 2017

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An eight-win summer surmises there’s quite a few questions to be answered.

However, in picking up six wins over the span of nine days in the IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic, Naperville Central began to answer some pertinent questions heading to 2017.

Everyone knows the pitching acumen Ryan Eiermann has put on display for two years on the varsity level for Mike Stock’s charges.

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In compiling a 14-3 record, a 1.40 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 130 career innings, the TCU-bound lefty has turned himself into the consummate high school ace.

But as the program looks to build off its first trip to the final eight of the tournament now synonymous with its longtime former pitching coach since 2008, pitching depth is crucial.

Charlie Walzer at work for Naperville Central as part of its 3-1 victory over Warren in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 19, 2016.
Charlie Walzer goes to work for Naperville Central in its 3-1 victory over Warren in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 19, 2016.

Seniors Charlie Walzer and Nick Rietz each tossed complete games as part of the ninth-seeded Redhawks’ run to the IHSBCA Hinsdale South Regional title and beyond.

Walzer threw a pair of complete games in the direction of Aurora Central Catholic and Warren, in which he allowed just one run in 12 combined innings.

Hours after Walzer’s complete-game victory over Warren on Tuesday morning kept Naperville Central alive, Rietz followed suit by going the distance in a 7-3 victory over Fremd.

“Yeah, we’ve been fortunate from the other games to have solid defense and great pitching,” catcher Jack Hughes said on Wednesday after Plainfield South advanced to the summer state tournament title game with a 6-3 victory. “And we’re not going to have that every game, but we’re going to have to come in with our hitting.”

That’s not to say Eiermann didn’t contribute on the mound, either.

He fanned 21 batters in firing 11 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball in two appearances during the summer state tournament.

Ryan Eiermann delivers a pitch in Naperville Central's 1-0 loss to Fremd in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 18, 2016.
Ryan Eiermann delivers a pitch in Naperville Central’s 1-0 loss to Fremd in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 18, 2016.

Displaying flashes of the brilliance first shone as a sophomore in 2015, he tossed 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief at Neuqua Valley on July 12, fanning 13.

Five more scoreless innings and eight strikeouts came six days later against Fremd as Eiermann got into a groove as the outing went on before leaving having thrown 83 pitches.

The Redhawks would go on to lose to the Vikings, 1-0, in eight innings but that was in no fault to Eiermann, Blake McClung and Tyler Brinker.

“I’m feeling I’m getting that mentality back to come out here and just (let it rip),” Eiermann said. “My pitching coach always tells me, ‘you should try to tell yourself you’re the best and no one’s better and just have that confidence.’ Because if you go out there and you’re worried about someone else doing something – like hitting your ball – then it’s going to happen. But if you go out there thinking you’re the best, then you’ll perform your best.”

Hughes – tasked with catching all 55 innings the Redhawks played in the summer state tournament – recorded three RBI in the Tuesday afternoon victory over Fremd.

The charge of helping get the pitching staff through some difficult situations throughout the two weeks while offering up some production at the plate wasn’t lost on Stock.

“Jack Hughes was great behind the plate the last two weeks,” Stock said. “He caught every inning and good pitching doesn’t just happen. Jack called every pitch, Jack received every pitch and this doesn’t happen with just anybody back there. We don’t have the success. Jack Hughes had a great two weeks for us.”

As part of its four games in the IHSBCA Hinsdale South Regional, Naperville Central tallied 36 runs in scoring at least nine runs in three of the four games.

But its four games as part of the final eight of the IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic featured three that saw it score three runs or less.

Finding consistent production up and down the lineup to aid Eiermann, Walzer, Nick Rietz, Ben Rietz and Brinker will be an issue to be dealt with early next spring.

Connor Gurnik at the plate during Naperville Central's 7-3 victory over Fremd in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 19, 2016.
Connor Gurnik at the plate during Naperville Central’s 7-3 victory over Fremd in IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic on July 19, 2016.

Cal-Poly-bound shortstop Connor Gurnik had two doubles against the Cougars on Wednesday and provided the game-tying sacrifice fly against Warren on Tuesday morning.

Tommy Carlsen and Ben Rozeboom combined to get on seven times – coming away with a combined five hits and four runs scored – in the Redhawks’ victory over Fremd.

Eiermann came through with a big two-run single to help get them some momentum against the Vikings Tuesday as they exacted some revenge for the tough loss a day earlier.

But it is instances like the two Naperville Central got itself into late against Plainfield South that will prove to be a teaching point as it looks ahead to the spring of 2017.

Placing its first two runners on against Cougars reliever Jordan Mikel in both the sixth and seventh innings, only to come up empty both times, halted momentum in a comeback attempt.

When you consider where the Redhawks were prior to the start of the tournament and where they resided – the summer state semis – nine days later, a lot of ground was covered.

For Gurnik – one of the established leaders for Stock – that’s the message he’ll be trying to parlay to the younger Redhawks, given his two years of varsity experience.

“The summer’s always really good to get to know everybody coming up, some juniors coming up,” he said. “I really liked how we played the last two weeks. We came together as a team and we really meshed. And I really like that – how we’re going to roll into this spring coming up.”

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Blake Baumgartner
Blake Baumgartner
Raised in Naperville, Blake Baumgartner is a 2001 Naperville Central alumnus and a 2005 graduate of Michigan State's School of Journalism. Since March 2010, he has covered football, boys' basketball and baseball for both The Naperville Sun and Positively Naperville. Follow him on Twitter @BFBaumgartner.

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