With over half its roster comprised of talented underclassmen, the Riverside Brookfield baseball team’s future appears very bright. Of course, the current crew isn’t looking too shabby either, rolling thus far to an 18-8 overall record and winning the Metro Suburban Conference championship outright.
The Bulldogs honored their seniors, who have been instrumental to the team’s successful run this spring, during a doubleheader split against Fenton on Saturday.
After dropping the first game 5-4 to the Bison, RB (18-9, 11-4 Metro Suburban) bounced back with a convincing 11-1 victory. Jack Kincanon (3-0, 2.15 ERA) tossed a three-hitter and struck out six in earning his second consecutive complete game. Joe Ruge (2-for-2, RBI), John Hearlston (3-for-4, RBI) and Kevin Onischuk (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) sparked the Bulldogs’ explosive offense, which is averaging eight runs per game.
In the opening game loss, Davis Baer (1-1, 2.10 ERA) worked five innings and gave up nine hits while striking out four. Dylan Krug went 2-for-3 and Kyle Halverson extended his hitting streak to nine games.
“It was good to get everybody in,” said RB coach Mike Ziroli about Senior Day. “Our seniors have played a vital role in the success of our program.”
On Friday, the Bulldogs clinched their conference title with an 8-0 win over Elmwood Park. Billy VandeMerkt paced the offense with two hits and two RBIs while Scott Rysz, Rob Lutz, Jon Kleinmeyer, Ruge, Catris, Halverson, Frampton added hits as well.
“One of our goals was to win conference,” Ziroli said. “We may see Elmwood Park in our regional, so it’s good for us to get a few wins over them. It might help give us a psychological edge.”
Kleinmeyer (6-4, 1.85 ERA), yielded just three hits and struckout seven. The hard-throwing senior leads RB in multiple categories, including: innings pitched (60.67), wins (6, tied with Ruge), ERA (1.85), strikeouts (67), and complete games (7)
“Kleinmeyer came out throwing well [against Elmwood Park],” Ziroli said. “He was really attacking the strike zone. Jon is a power pitcher.”
The Bulldogs also picked up a 10-5 win over the Tigers last week. Ruge tossed a complete-game and also blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning to lift RB to an 8-4 lead. Rysz (2-for-4, HR) and Krug (2-for-3, RBI) chipped in offensively.