Preston Regnier sharp in return to form, pitches Yorkville past Oswego East

YORKVILLE – Preston Regnier felt like a change in his preparation was called for.

Yorkville’s senior right-hander has gone through a rocky last month. Regnier was hit hard by Oswego and Minooka his last two times out. He didn’t make it through four innings in three of his last four starts.

“I was babying my arm a little too much in between starts, not loosening it up fully,” Regnier said. “This last week I really focused on throwing with an intent, playing catch, hitting my spots, doing the little things to get better.

“I think from start to finish today my arm felt good. It was the best I’ve felt in a while.”

Regnier indeed looked the part of a staff ace Monday.

He threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six. Yorkville scored a run in the second inning, and it held up in a 1-0 win over visiting Oswego East in the first of a three-game Southwest Prairie West series.

Regnier (3-1) threw 60 of his 95 pitches for strikes and retired 13 consecutive batters from the second through sixth innings.

He recorded inning-ending strikeouts to strand runners at second the first two innings, then was on cruise control for the Foxes (14-11, 7-3)

It was a welcome sight to Yorkville coach Tom Cerven, who said it started with Regnier’s fastball command.

“It’s been a struggle for him the last month. Part of that is opponent and part of that is his command hasn’t been great. Everything he does works off his fastball,” Cerven said.

“We saw it early on first inning he was able to locate his fastball in the zone. Once he’s able to do it it’s real easy to be able to choose your spots.”

Regnier’s reset started right after his last outing, when he was pulled after 90 pitches and three innings in an eventual 10-8 Yorkville win over Oswego.

Regnier talked to his pitching coach, and told him he planned to throw more often prior to his next start. He started throwing Wednesday through Saturday.

“I just knew if I got ahead, threw more strikes than I had in previous outings I’d be set up well,” Regnier said.

The Regnier that Cerven saw Monday much more resembled that of his junior year, when he was a revelation for the Foxes’ pitching staff.

“We saw what he did last year; it’s been hit and miss this year,” Cerven said. “For him it’s as much in between the ears as anything else. It’s hard when you are struggling and you want to be competitive. It can take a toll on you mentally.

“For him to come out to throw as well as he did, especially today with runs at a premium, he held up under that pressure.”

Indeed, as good as Regnier was, he needed to be with Oswego East’s Carter Davis holding his own.

Dominic Battista tripled with one out in the sixth for the Wolves trailing 1-0. But the next batter hit a sharp comebacker to Regnier, who threw out Battista at the plate.

Regnier finished the inning, and Frankie Pavlik worked a scoreless seventh.

“The best trait about me on the mound is my ability to forget,” Regnier said. “I have confidence in my stuff that I can get guys out. Use that confidence, focus on the next batter.”

The game’s lone run came in the second, as freshman Bryce Baxa doubled leading off and Pavlik reached on a bunt single. Aaron Klemm’s RBI ground out drove in the run.

Davis did his part to give the Wolves (13-16, 4-6) a chance, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and stranding two runners in the third and fourth innings.

He scattered six hits and two walks over six innings, striking out three.

“With Carter it’s his resilience – having runners on, getting behind in the count early and being able to battle and compete," Oswego East coach Brian Schaeffer said. “He didn’t let errors in the field get to him.

“Our strength has been pitching, being able to keep us in games for the most part, giving us an opportunity to get back in the game.”