Waubonsie Valley baseball players might be the only people who haven’t complained about this spring’s dreary weather.
While, until recently, sunshine and warm temperatures have been in short supply, Warriors victories have not. Waubonsie has jumped off to a 7-0 start in the Upstate Eight Conference and started the week 7-1 overall. The weather is changing, and Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio is optimistic that his team’s performance will stay the same.
“When the weather gets warmer, the ball seems to carry better,” said Fezzuoglio, in his second year after succeeding Jim Schmid. “Pitchers right now have the advantage. When the weather warms up, you see what you have in depth. With us, we had seven or eight juniors in the lineup last year. With that experience you can see a huge difference in how we have played in game situations.”
Last season Waubonsie Valley went 20-16 overall and 16-11 in conference play. With junior pitcher Mike Christl returning with a 6-0 record and seniors Mike Markwiese and Chris Hums getting quality innings, the Warriors look like a team that could survive the grueling 30-game Upstate Eight schedule. Senior Jeff Sassano gives the Warriors a solid four-man rotation for pitching coach Dan Schatzeder, a former major league pitcher.
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“We definitely have a good group,” said Christl, who just returned from 10 days of inactivity because of a shoulder injury. “All four of us can rotate through the season. We’ll be good. …
“I think we’re just going to keep proving to everyone we can play. We’re pretty much stacked, I think. I’ve played with these guys a lot in a summer league team, and they are good.”
The Warriors showed the Upstate Eight how good they could be when the swept conference favorite St. Charles East in a doubleheader last weekend. Christl pitched a three-hit shutout in the 1-0 opener, striking out seven and walking one. In the second game, the Warriors came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 14-8, as first baseman Kris Horton had eight RBIs including a two-run homer. The final game of the three-game set, scheduled Tuesday, was postponed because of wet grounds and will be played on Monday.
“Beating St. Charles was huge,” Horton said. “Coach said before the game, this was going to show us what we’re made of. It was our first important test of the season. We just have to go out and play like we know we can play. We just need to beat the teams we’re supposed to beat and take two of three from the tougher teams. If we do that, we’ll be all right.”
Horton, a senior, leads the team in hitting, starting the week with a .522 average. He has 11 RBIs with two home runs. Sassano, who plays right field, was hitting .417, while catcher Mark Focken was hitting .407. Center fielder Sean Goro was at .333 with eight RBIs.
One of the intangibles Waubonsie Valley has is a togetherness. Many of the players, including Sassano, Goro, third baseman Joe Fumo, Focken and Horton, went to Hill Middle School and have played together since Little League. Sassano, Fumo, Hums, Markwiese and Christl all played on the Warriors 26-3 basketball team.
“We’re really excited,” said Horton. “Part of our goal was to get off to a good start. Our experience from last year really helped a bunch. The leadership in general is very good. You feel really comfortable playing with these guys.”
Fezzuoglio was hoping for a .500 finish last season and was pleasantly surprised. After a successful summer season, he thought his team could do some great things. The fast start comes as no surprise.
“I really thought this team had some special gifts,” Fezzuoglio said. “When we got into our summer league program, you could just tell they really enjoy playing together. You really don’t find that much in teams. It’s a high school thing: The juniors don’t like the seniors, and the seniors don’t like the juniors. It’s a cliquish-type of thing. For the most part, that’s not the case [this year]. We have a nice bunch of juniors, along with the seniors; they seem to blend together nicely.”
Getting off to a good start was very important to Waubonsie Valley. Upcoming three-game series’ with Streamwood, Lake Park, Elgin, Bartlett and rival Neuqua Valley will tell more than the fast start. The weather will warm up as will the competition.
“It’s not bad pitching in the cold,” said Christl. “You always have the advantage, because the batters don’t really want to swing, make bad contact and hurt their hands. They don’t like inside pitches. Pitching in warm weather is fine, too. It really doesn’t matter that much.”
Sounds like a pleasant forecast for the Warriors.