Pitchers Pace Kits Past Highly-Regarded Huskies

The story line coming out of Evanston’s annual spring training baseball trip to Florida appeared to focus on just how potent the Wildkit offense has been with several new starters in the mix.

But, as always, the Kits are going to lean on their pitching heavily in crunch time.

Against a Hersey team ranked in the top 10 in the Chicago area in the preseason by one publication, Evanston’s pitchers rose to the occasion Friday.

Coach Frank Consiglio’s top three arms --- Eron Vega, Henry Rouch and Braden Grimm --- combined for a staggering 13 strikeouts and allowed only 3 hits in a 5-1 victory over the Huskies at Northwestern University.

The trio lifted ETHS to 7-2-1 on the season while Hersey fell to just 4-4 overall.

Evanston racked up 59 runs in the first 9 games and has been held under five runs only once so far. That’s a remarkable start when you consider that Consiglio’s spent most of the early portion of the campaign trying to sort through a new crop of seniors anxious to prove themselves in bigger roles, both at the plate and on the mound.

One who’s clearly ready for a bigger role is the hard-throwing Rouch, who couldn’t crack the rotation for a team that set the school record for victories last spring and was limited to an occasional relief appearance as a junior.

Friday, Rouch replaced starter Vega after Vega hit consecutive batters with one out in the 3rd inning. The 6-foot-5 senior yielded back-to-back singles to Diego Garcia and Charlie Arvantis of Hersey that produced the lone run for the visitors, then struck out 6 of the next 8 batters he faced.

Grimm’s relief stint featured 5 strikeouts out of 7 batters he matched up against to close out the victory.

While the offense may have overshadowed the pitching in the early going, Consiglio’s had no complaints about his squad’s efforts on the mound. But the veteran coach noted that Friday was the first time that the Kits played “complementary” baseball on offense, defense and on the mound, all at the same time.

“Those last four innings today were the best four innings we’ve played all year. And this was our best pitching, by far,” Consiglio said. “This is who we want to be as a team.

“Pitching is the strength of this team, and up until now, I haven’t done a good job of getting us to play to our strengths as a team. After our trip to Florida, now I understand the roles I think they can all play and so today was the first day I felt like I could coach to our strengths. When you’re a good baseball team, you find a way to play to your strengths.”

No one at Friday’s contest at Rocky Miller Park appeared to bring a radar gun, but the results would have been impressive no matter which ETHS pitcher got that point. Evanston’s hurlers were almost untouchable, with Roche earning his first victory of the year after the offense registered two runs in the 3rd, one in the 4th, and two more in the 5th.

Described by his head coach as a “late bloomer,” Rouch only started taking pitching seriously as a sophomore. He plans to continue his career at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania after committing to that program back in October.

“We got a great win against a good team today,” Rouch pointed out. “I didn’t start taking baseball seriously until my sophomore year --- that’s when I blossomed. But it’s definitely been a learning experience for me.

“I always try to be better today than I was yesterday. It was frustrating not getting the playing time I wanted last year, but I knew it meant that I just had to get better. I think my main improvement has been my mental game. Last year I was new to the idea of being ‘a guy who could be good’ and that was a lot to deal with. I had to learn to act like I belong.

“Now, I have more confidence and I’m locating (pitches) better, too.”

“Henry’s at his best when he gets early results (in the count) and he’s not trying to trick you or fool you,” noted Consiglio. “When he’s fastball dominant, like he was today, then he’s really, really good. He’s really made some great strides since last year. It’s just a matter of him realizing how good he is and taking that mentality to the mound with him.

“His ceiling is very high.”

Charlie Kalil drove in two runs with a single and a double and Noah Cryns ripped a pair of doubles to pace a 6-hit attack for the winners. Evanston also stole a season-high 7 bases, including a theft of home by pinch-runner Caleb Watson in the 5th at the back end of a double steal.

Kalil’s two-out double, a scorcher down the left field line, scored Clay Lemmon and Vega as Evanston took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd. The Wildkits added on in the fourth, thanks to three walks and Vega’s sacrifice fly, and put the game out of reach in the 5th.

Kalil started the rally by beating out an infield hit, and stopped at third when Cryns launched a double over the left fielder’s head that would have been a home run at the ETHS home field. Owen Vander Velde’s sacrifice fly plated Kalil, and Watson’s subsequent steal of home provided some insurance.

Evanston resumes action next week with Central Suburban League crossover games against Vernon Hills (Tuesday at home) and Niles West (Thursday on the road).