GL_031617

glenviewlantern.com sports
the glenview lantern | March 16, 2017 | 39
Baseball
Stanicek seeks redemption in new season
Sarah Haider
Assistant Editor
Coach Steve Stanicek
isn’t satisfied with how
Glenbrook South ended the
2016 season.
Although the Titans finished
third in the Central
Suburban League with a
12-17 record, they lost in
the regional semifinal, 5-3,
to Stevenson.
“We have to be better
finishers,” Stanicek said.
“Last year, we had 17 losses
and we lost nine games
by one run. A lot of that
was at the end of games,
whether it was pitching one
day, bad defense the next or
[the inability] to come up
with a big hit the following
day.”
Throughout winter conditioning
and indoor practices,
the Titans have kept
last year’s shortcomings at
the forefront of their minds.
Stanicek and his players
are focusing on keeping a
positive attitude while constantly
pushing themselves
for improvement, whether
they’re swinging for the
metaphorical fences in the
batting cages or taking
another rep in the weight
room.
The coach hopes that
this endurance training will
propel the team toward its
biggest goal of the season
— 21 outs.
“The general philosophy
we are spending a lot of
time on is getting 21 outs
as fast as we can,” Stanicek
said. “That was probably
our biggest issue last year.
We would have leads, then
we might make an error,
which was followed by a
walk and one base hit, and
then it’s two runs. That
was our Achilles’ heel last
year.”
Senior catcher Jeff
Mitchell, who saw action
as a designated hitter and
catcher on varsity last year,
is one of 10 seniors who
will fill leadership roles on
a young and relatively inexperienced
roster.
Stanicek hopes his players
will continue to nurture
the determination and leadership
that has been present
early in the season.
“We might go through a
few growing pains at the
beginning of the season, but
I think it’s going to help us
in the long run,” Stanicek
said. “Our younger kids are
very talented. It’s just getting
them used to the pace
of varsity play, [but] I think
that will come with time.”
Mitchell, as well as pitchers
Brett Borre, Cam Pauly
and outfielder Jacob Smiley,
will team up with a group of
newcomers who are already
acclimating to the pace of
varsity baseball, according
to Stanicek. The rising newcomers
include infielder/
pitcher Jacob Newman, infielder
Mike Snow and outfielder
Connor Nash.
“I’m hoping that due to
our youth we are able to
play [on] that ... and hopefully
really make kids excited
for the season,” Mitchell
said. “I wouldn’t say it put
uncertainty into everyone,
but because of the fact no
one really knows what is
set in stone for each player,
hopefully everyone will
be trying to fight for each
position, which will cause
a lot of competition in our
practices and make us better.”
According to Stanicek,
New Trier and Evanston
will be the teams to beat in
the CSL South.
But Mitchell believes the
Titans posses the right personnel
for the job.
“I would say the strength
we have this year is definitely
depth,” he said. “We
have a lot of great players
that can really fill in wherever
we need them to, so
that’s pretty helpful. We
have a lot of good arms
pitching-wise, but with
baseball [it’s] definitely
about putting the [pieces]
together.”
Baseball
Experienced Ramblers look to make noise
Fouad Egbaria
Contributing Editor
Loyola Academy baseball
coach Nick Bridich,
entering his fifth year leading
the Ramblers, feels
pretty good about the team
he has coming back this
season.
“This is probably the
most experienced club
we’ve had from a positionplayer
standpoint,” he
said.
The Ramblers, whose
2016 season ended in a
7-2 regional final loss
against Elk Grove Village,
lost several standouts, including
outfielder Liam
McKeough, third baseman
Thomas Smart, second
baseman Jack Lombardi,
and pitchers Kevin Knapp,
David Blankenship and
Thomas Giella.
Loyola has to find replacements
for those class
of 2016 arms, but, in the
field, they’re loaded with
experience.
At first base, junior Jason
Vrbancic will “without
a doubt” hit in the middle
of the order for the Ramblers.
“He’s a talented offensive
player and is definitely
a player that will
get time at the next level,”
Bridich said. “He is just
starting his varsity career
here but he is one of the
more advanced offensive
players that I’ve coached.”
At second base, senior
Danny O’Brien, whom
Bridich praised for his
defensive skills, will step
into a full-time role this
year. Pairing with O’Brien
in the middle infield is
shortstop Ryan Lin-Peistrup,
a University of Illinois-Chicago
commit. In
2016, Lin-Peistrup batted
.298 and tallied a teamhigh
31 RBI.
“He’s a physical player,
he can run, he can hit, he
can throw,” Bridich said.
“He is without a doubt one
of the premier shortstops
in the area.”
Senior Jack Blindt, a
University of St. Thomas
commit, rounds out the
infield at third base. At
catcher, senior captain Brian
Vance, a Saint Joseph’s
University commit, returns
behind the plate
“Brian is as good a defensive
catcher as you’re
going to find, maybe in the
state of Illinois,” Bridich
said.
In the outfield, captain
and three-year starter Sean
Tully, a DePauw University
commit, will man center
field. He’ll be joined in
the outfield by Drew Bartholow,
an Emory University
commit. Last season,
Bartholow really raked,
hitting .347 with 30 RBI.
Rounding out the outfield
will be a mix of juniors, including
Will Jackson, Trey
Torein and Henry Haracz.
On the mound, however,
is where the Ramblers will
need to find some answers,
particularly with the losses
of Knapp, Blankenship
and Giella.
While new guys will
be taking up most of the
innings this season, they
won’t be “new faces,”
Bridich said.
“I really like our pitching
staff,” he said. “Even
though there’s some ‘inexperience’
there with
throwing varsity innings,
I think this is a really mature
group and [they’re]
guys who have worked
tremendously hard and are
ready.”
Senior right-hander
Rich Campbell will feature
heavily after having
injury issues as a junior.
Senior right-hander John
O’Flaherty and left-hander
Chris Toomey — whom
Bridich called “unconventional”
in his motion
— will also be in the mix
for the Ramblers. Jackson,
a junior who will also play
the outfield, also figures to
get the ball on the mound.
Similarly, fellow junior
Haracz will pitch.
“[Haracz] is a strikethrower
and a quality
strike-thrower and will just
kind of come at you and
challenge you,” Bridich
said.
Right-hander Chris
Heywood, who is also in
the infield mix, will get innings,
as will left-hander
P.J. McKermitt.
In relief, junior righthander
Ben Wagner and
right-hander Nolan Graf
will spell the starters in
late innings.
As a fifth-year coach,
Bridich said he and his
team are focused on getting
better each day.
“We don’t really focus
on the wins and losses, we
try to take that out of it,”
he said. “Our job is to be
in the moment and find a
way to improve every day.
... We truly try to keep it
right there.”
Loyola opens its season
against St. Patrick on Saturday,
March 18, at Munz
Campus in Glenview.