Richards' Bats Booming, and Danielson Pitches In

Richards has been on a tear with its bats lately. The latest victim was crosstown rival Oak Lawn, as the  on Friday.

The key to Richards’ big win was a seven-run first inning.

“The way we hit the ball today was really nice,” Richards coach Brian Wujcik said. “It seems to me like our bats are starting to come alive. Guys are taking really good approaches at the plate. They’re being disciplined, they’re waiting for good pitches to hit and when they get their good pitches, we seem to be hitting it hard.”

Richards left fielder Chris Elliott was 2-for-4 with a three-run home run.

“We’ve been on a winning streak. We’ve been hitting the ball well. The pitchers have been pitching,” Elliott said.

One of those pitchers is junior Jon Danielson, who picked up the win Friday to improve to 3-1.

“His breaking ball was working nice,” Wujcik said of Danielson. “And he was doing a good job of spotting his fastball and getting ahead of hitters.”

This is Danielson’s first full season on varsity, and he’s starting to get more comfortable.

“He’s learning how to pitch,” Wujcik said. “He had a lot of success at the sophomore level just getting on the mound and blowing the ball by guys. And we’ve told him at the varsity level it’s not going to be that way, you’re going to have to pitch.”

Danielson knows why he’s been improving in the last few weeks.

“I’m throwing harder, more accurately, and I have more control on the ball,” he said.

Danielson added that pitching coach Kevin Quinn has helped.

“Coach Quinn has been telling me to get the ball low, telling me to stay straight on the mound and try not to fall off,” he said.

Wujcik is excited about Danielson’s growth.

“He’s starting to learn and he’s starting to turn into a really good varsity pitcher,” Wujcik said.