Given the opportunity to let what he had just done sink in, Plainfield North’s cleanup hitter Josh Garner took time to tip his hat.
Two outs away from elimination, Garner’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning in a Class 4A Romeoville Sectional Semifinal on June 4 instead turned the tables in sending Naperville Central home from the Class 4A postseason.
The challenge presented from Redhawks’ left-hander Ryan Eiermann that Plainfield North staved off en route to eventually picking up the program’s first sectional title was evident immediately.
“He’s a very good pitcher,” Garner said of Eiermann, whom Garner recorded two hits and three RBIs off of in four at-bats. “He’s got a lot of good stuff and he was really tough to hit.”
What the sophomore lefty ended up being for Naperville Central as the season began and eventually wore on to April, May and June for was pretty simple: ace.
For a program that has been known for them recently, Eiermann’s ascension to the top of Naperville Central’s rotation as a sophomore wasn’t necessarily a fate accompli.
But a startling run to open his season, a 54-inning streak without allowing an earned run, made the decision for Redhawks’ coach Mike Stock to give his young left-hander a shot to lead the staff easier.
“People are excited about Ryan for a lot of things,” Stock said. “I’m excited about Ryan Eiermann, the way he competes.”
Competitor is an appropriate trait to describe how Eiermann attacked opponents all season long and it’s a big reason why he’s being named the 2015 Positively Naperville Prep Baseball Player of the Year.
Ask Eiermann about expectations and he’ll give you an honest answer.
“I came in, knowing that I was going to be a sophomore, knowing my role,” Eiermann said. “Didn’t think it would end up where I was. I think it was just, along the way, the guys on our team just gave me and (sophomore shortstop) Connor Gurnik the confidence to do our best and it’s not about the juniors and seniors.”
In compiling an 8-1 record and a 0.56 ERA to go with 114 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings, Eiermann proved to be a quick study from the start.
On his way to garnering Co-DuPage Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year honors with Glenbard North senior Eric Orze, Eiermann made early impressions around the conference.
Both Naperville North and Wheaton Warrenville South twice fell victim to the 6-foot, 185-pound Eiermann during DVC play.
“He’s still (impressive),” Naperville North coach Carl Hunckler said of Eiermann after he beat the Huskies for a second time on May 14. “He’s a great pitcher. He’s a great pitcher. He can overpower people and I think that’s a key element. I think when you have somebody like that on your team, you feel pretty darn good.”
A trio of 10-strikeout games for Eiermann, highlighted by a career-high 14 at Wheaton North on April 27, came within a four-game stretch from April 21 to May 9.
On May 23, the day he became the third Naperville Central pitcher since 1982 to record 100 strikeouts in a season, his hard work throughout the season paid dividends with a verbal commitment to TCU.
The 114 strikeouts Eiermann tallied for the first Naperville Central team to not win 20 games since 2007 places him behind only Shane Conlon’s 122 from 2010 and Mike Deese’s 115 from 1986.
Eiermann has two more years before he joins Jim Schlossnagle’s program in Fort Worth, Texas, which has reached the College World Series three times since 2010.
Those two years will offer him an opportunity to join Colin Bates, Kyle Kaminska, Pat Kaminska, Conlon and Dan Ludwig as among the best pitchers in Naperville Central history.
“I think Ryan’s going to go into this summer and he’s going to come back next year—he’s going to be the same exact person,” Redhawks’ senior catcher Justin Wegner said. “He’ll have all the confidence in the world. He’s going to compete, just like how he did this year. So I’m looking forward to coming back and watching him throw.”
