Suburban Life baseball notebook: York, relying on its bats to carry the way, not missing a beat

Experience is York’s calling card this season.

Despite the loss of nearly every top pitcher from their staff from last season’s Class 4A fourth-place team, namely superstar Ryan Sloan, the Dukes are not missing a beat this spring.

The Dukes (12-1, 4-0) are on track for another 25-plus win season, but are relying on their bats to carry them to victories this season.

“We brought back quite a bit of hitting,” York coach River Pitlock said. “Last year, seven of our (top) nine hitters were juniors, so that was good to see, especially last couple of years after being really pitching heavy.

“The first 13 games this season our hitters are seeing the ball really well, taking good pitches and making good in-game adjustments. We’ve developed into a strong defense and pitching and just clicking on all three cylinders.”

The Dukes have an abundance of experience, returning 14 seniors, six of whom have 25-plus games of experience but just four pitchers with 17 or more innings of work.

Second baseman Josh Fleming is one of six seniors committed to play in college. The Grand Valley State recruit is one of the headline players, along with catcher Owen Chael.

“Josh is really hitting well and picking up a whole bunch of leadership,” Pitlock said. “Owen is doing a great job at catcher. He’s defensively strong and offensively seeing the ball very well, taking good hacks and putting a lot of pressure on the opposing teams.”

Fleming said the seniors – and the rest of his teammates – are aiming for a third straight trip to state and are motivated to top their back-to-back fourth-place finishes. Fleming said the biggest factor in York’s success has been their strong culture and closeness.

“Many people counted us out after we graduated a lot of arms last spring, but this team is not far off from our previous two state qualifying teams,” Fleming said. “Our bats can compete with anyone in the state and our new pitchers have all stepped up in big ways.”

Fleming said he worked hard in the offseason to prepare for a bigger load and responsibilities this season. He added meditation, breathing and visualization techniques to go along with spending time in the gym.

“I spent a lot of time in the weight room and in the cages, but the most important improvements I’ve made were with my mind,” Fleming said. “I wanted to make sure I was as mentally prepared as physically because both are equally as important. Improving my mind has improved my game a ton.”

Senior pitcher Jack Bodach is one of the reasons for York’s strong pitching start. The left-hander is 3-0 with an ERA under 1.00, according to Pitlock.

“Jack was a top arm out of the pen last year, but he’s a starter now and pitching strong,” Pitlock said.

Bodach said he came into the season motivated to take on a bigger role for the pitching staff. Bodach said he attacked the weight room, building his legs through squats and working on fast-twitch muscle movements for explosiveness.

“Obviously, the loss of some great arms was tough, but this team can truly match the energy of York baseball of the past three seasons,” Bodach said. “The way our hitters have been able to extend at-bats and make pitchers grind has been crucial to our success. We’ve also had many guys step up all over the place.

Glenbard West looks to build momentum

Glenbard West is looking to build some momentum for the stretch run with this week’s West Suburban Silver three-game set against Hinsdale Central. The series kicks off with a 4:30 p.m. game on Tuesday at Hinsdale Central (5-8, 0-5).

The Hilltoppers (5-9, 0-5) and Red Devils have both struggled this season, thus putting added importance of winning the series for both teams.

“The keys to winning it are the same keys as winning any series: throw strikes, catch the ball, and put together as many quality at-bats as we can,” Glenbard West coach Andrew Schultz said. “If we do those three things for seven innings, we give ourselves a good chance.”

The Hilltoppers lost all three games to Lyons last week but posted an impressive 17-6 win over Morton on Saturday. The Hilltoppers are led by junior catcher Max Hetlet, who is hitting .395 and third baseman Eric Lowrie (.394).

“They have both been dangerous in the middle of our order,” Schultz said. “Henry Johnson’s 1.91 ERA leads our pitching staff, and he’ll have the ball [to start the Hinsdale series].”

Around the horn

Lyons (10-2, 3-0) is among the top in the crowded conference heading into a three-game series against York (12-1, 4-0). Downers Grove North tops the Silver with records of 15-1 and 6-0. Glenbard South (8-8, 4-1) opens a two-game set against rival Glenbard East (8-5, 5-0) today in the Metro Suburban Red.