The Riverside-Brookfield High School baseball team is off to another hot start.
The Bulldogs are 5-2 after the first two weeks of the season and tied for first in the Metro Suburban Blue Division with a 3-0 record.
RBHS went a perfect 3-0 last week, beating Illiana Christian twice for a sweep of the season series.
“You know, every win is a good win, but those two games were especially big for us,” Bulldogs head coach Dallas Till said.
Illiana Christian won the Metro Suburban last season and the series win serves as a benchmark for the Bulldogs’ young season.
One of the wins came thanks to the pitching of junior standout and Illinois State commit Ryan Cermak, who hurled a complete game shutout in his start against the Vikings.
“He’s our ace,” Till said. “Whenever Ryan is on the mound we expect to win. And he’s hitting well, too.”
But Cermak’s season was in jeopardy just a week before, according to the Bulldogs’ skipper.
“Ryan got hit by a pitch in the game against Morton and we didn’t know if he would be able to come back,” Till said. “We thought it might be season-ending.”
Luckily for RBHS and Cermak, he was able to bounce back and quickly return to form.
This isn’t to say Cermak is carrying the team, though. RBHS is getting production from all over the diamond.
Till said over the first seven games, the play of senior second baseman John Kosner, who is hitting .474; sophomore catcher Mike Schicker, batting .294; and senior center fielder Jarod Turina, hitting .632, have helped propel the Bulldogs to where they are.
“Those guys have really been playing well,” Till said. “And we expect them to do that – and so far, they have.”
Junior third baseman Griffin Jordan is also making his mark in his first year on varsity. While he has made a couple errors in the hot corner, he is hitting .385 and has shown the ability to hit just about anywhere in the lineup.
And just as the season really kicks into gear, the Bulldogs will get senior first baseman Howie Hatton back, as he will rejoin the team sometime in the coming week.
“We’ve had a great week and we hope to continue that,” Till said. “But we still have work to do.”
