Inexperienced Hurlers Hold Key To Kits' Success

At one point late last spring, it dawned on Evanston baseball coach Frank Consiglio that none of his junior pitchers had managed to break into the rotation on a senior-dominated pitching staff that was responsible for much of the success the Wildkits enjoyed in a 26-8-1 season that ended in the Illinois High School Association sectional tournament finals.

Now the veteran coach is facing one of the most daunting challenges of his career, trying to rebuild and reshape an untested pitching staff and help them figure out how to get outs at the varsity level.

Senior right-hander Owen Vander Velde is the only returning pitcher who logged any varsity mound action in 2024. And he barely broke a sweat, pitching a grand total of four innings.

So the arms race has begun for the Wildkits, who dropped their first two games of the 2025 season this week (9-8 to Hersey and 4-3 to Loyola Academy) and don’t know yet just who is going to take advantage of opportunities on the mound this spring.

In that regard, this might be the most important spring break trip to Florida for Evanston since Consiglio took over the program back in 2007. The Wildkits will play 10 games in six days at Vero Beach starting this weekend and opportunity is knocking for all of the hurlers on the roster.

Evanston’s baseball success may have gone unnoticed by most, but the Kits have won 20 or more games in 10 of the last 11 seasons and, despite his squad’s inexperience, Consiglio believes the talent is still present in the program.

It just hasn’t been tested yet.

“In all my 26 years of coaching, I’ve never had a situation like this,” Consiglio said. “Those guys last year as juniors just couldn’t break into the rotation because we were so deep. We knew this was coming and it’s going to be a work in progress. We think we have the arms that will get the outs, but essentially the seniors on the staff have skipped an entire year (competing) and that’s not easy for them.

“It’s very, very interesting, I think. We’ve pitched well here for a long time --- that’s been a big part of our success --- and we have to rebuild now. That spring trip will benefit us greatly this year because we’ll see whose got the ability and mental toughness. I think we’ll come back from there with a much clearer picture.”

Nineteen players on the current 30-man roster are listed as pitchers, although some are position players who might only take the mound in an emergency or in a junior varsity contest. Vander Velde, who started in center field last year for the Wildkits, tops the list of senior hopefuls that also includes Holden Bellis, Zach Bachochin, Cole Felten, Cole Vander Velde (Owen’s brother), Harrison Stracks, Otis Randhava, Theo Raden, Clay Lemmon and Will Molitor.

The junior class candidates to break into the rotation include Johnny Kellams, Bryce Lortie, Griffin Lewis, Alex Caldwell, Ethan Carpenter and Isaac Hanrahan. And Consiglio started sophomores Elliot Paul and Sam Kalil in the first two games this spring.

Owen Vander Velde could emerge as the No. 1 starter --- if someone else doesn’t take that role first.

“Owen is a talented pitcher, a pitcher with good stuff,” Consiglio said. “But he hasn’t gotten outs yet at the varsity level. I think that’s a tougher transition for a pitcher than a hitter (moving up from the lower levels to the varsity). I think the situation will affect us more the first half of the season. Once they all see how you have to perform, I think the second half of the season will be a lot of fun.

“Right now it’s just about getting a lot of guys enough work. We expect Owen to be a front end guy. Paul could be that guy if he can throw strikes, and I have confidence in Bachochin, too. Kellams will have some success for us if he learns to attack hitters in the zone. We have a lot to learn about all of them. We don’t know --- yet --- how many of them we can count on in high leverage situations.

“I know what wins at the varsity level. I think that’s one of my strengths as a coach. But I don’t know what we have yet.”

The Wildkits do have three returning position players back in the lineup this spring. Vander Velde was one of the team’s top offensive threats as a junior, with a .349 batting average, and outfielder Avan Teuer (.338) and junior Aaron Shalin (.308 in 16 games at the varsity level) are proven performers at the plate.

Bachochin actually won the starting job at third base the first week of May and held onto the job because he offered the best defensive option among the challengers for playing time. Shalin usually served as the designated hitter in Bachochin’s place in the lineup after he was promoted from the sophomore squad at mid-season.

Now Shalin figures to start at first base with Bachochin shifting over to shortstop.

“You have to hit to play this game (at the varsity level),” noted the ETHS head coach. “I think they’re going to hit, and I think the strength of this team could be our infield defense. It’s a different dynamic for us this year.”

Lemmon (second base) and Hanrahan (third base) could face a challenge for playing time from sophomore Tate Schroeder, who is getting a late start after an extended winter season as a basketball player on Evanston’s third place State team. Another basketball player, Dion Lane Jr., will compete for at-bats in the outfield.

Two juniors, Garrett Hagerty and Harrison Boes, are battling for the starting spot at catcher.

The Kits tested Consiglio’s patience in the first two games as they struck out a combined 25 times and only mustered six hits.

In Monday’s frigid debut at Hersey, the bullpen blew an 8-3 lead as Kellams surrendered a three-run home run and Vander Velde threw four wild pitches, walked three and allowed three runs in his one-inning stint. Shalin whacked a pair of two-run singles in the third and fourth innings to account for Evanston’s only hits in the contest.

Tuesday at Loyola, Vander Velde’s two-run homer to center field pulled the visitors within 3-2 against Rambler starter Joe Drehkoff. Loyola tacked on an insurance run, however, when Stracks allowed a single, a walk and threw a pair of wild pitches in the fifth. Bachochin came on to slam the door at that point, striking out five of the six batters he faced.

Hagerty’s squeeze bunt produced a run in the ETHS sixth and the Kits had a chance to tie the game in the seventh when Shalin hit a leadoff single. But Loyola righty Mark Atwood retired the next three hitters in order to end the game.