Downers Grove North closing in on 20-win benchmark: Suburban Life baseball notebook

One more win.

The Downers Grove North baseball team is one victory shy of the 20-win mark.

The Trojans (19-5, 9-3 West Suburban Silver) can hit the traditional stated mark of a solid season with a win over Glenbard South on Tuesday.

After winning a combined 62 games the last two seasons, the Trojans are relishing their status as one of the best programs in the conference.”

“Winning 20 games in a season usually means you’ve done something right,” Downers Grove North coach Kyle Briscoe said. “The 20-win mark has been a constant the last few years for us. But this year’s team is more of a true baseball team. We’ve had some really good players in the past, and been blessed to have them, but this team is grinding it out as a team.”

One area the Trojans have been terrorizing teams is via the basepaths. In 24 games, the Trojans have amassed 115 stolen bases.

“We have been playing team ball,” Briscoe said. “Our recipe for success this season has been we’re able to move runners successfully over. We’re not hitting the ball all over the place, but we’re able to put pressure on teams. We’ve been able to glove it and gotten good pitching. We’re playing with a selfless attitude and not worried about stats.

“We have a selfless attitude. One through nine, we can bunt, hit and run and we’re not afraid of giving up a swing or a strike to move runners over.”

Senior first baseman Brady Schallmoser, a Wabash College recruit who drove in 37 runs last season, is a three-year starter who remembers the 32-win team from 2023.

“This team is definitely deeper than last year and there is talent throughout every position and less of alphas leading the team,” Schallmoser said. “I’ve tried to lead by example because if you lead with your voice, but don’t back it up with your actions, the things you say don’t have any effect.”

Schallmoser, who belted a home run in a victory over Glenbard West last week, said he prepared for his senior season by focusing on improving his body. Schallmoser is batting .403 with 22 doubles and two home runs.

“I just focused on getting bigger, faster and stronger because my skills have always been there, but the weight room elevates those skills,” Schallmoser said. “That strength has definitely shown throughout the year.”

Briscoe said Schallmoser, Russ Oros (.368 average) and Emilio Gandarilla (.412) have been consistent performers for the Trojans.

“Russ is a three-year starter along with Brady, and they’ve both been through the battles when they were sophomores and we had George Wolkow,” he said. “Brady has been a consistent bat in the middle of the order and been very steady. Emilio has been a big surprise for us. He was a guy we knew about defensively that he could glove it at shortstop. He’s come up with clutch hits all year. He’s got the clutch gene.”

Another emerging player, Briscoe said, has been sophomore pitcher Colin Doyle. The 6-foot-6 righthander tossed a complete game against Glenbard West, striking out six and scattering four hits in the win. On the season, Doyle has a 1.90 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 32⅓ innings.

“Colin has eaten up innings,” Briscoe said. “He’s been able to shut teams down for the most part. He’s very mature for a sophomore, just a really smart kid. He never gets fazed. He’s a competitor and has playoff experience from the basketball team. That has translated onto the mound this season. He’s very cool, calm and collected.”

Doyle, who has a fastball that ranges between 84 to 87 miles per hour, made a quick transition to a varsity go-to pitcher after playing on the freshman team for most of last season.

“This offseason, I was unsure of how big my role would be this year,” Doyle said. “I really focused on the weight room, which helped with velocity. I also learned new things about my mechanics, which has helped me stay more consistent. Playing basketball also really helped me by giving me experience and confidence to play on the varsity level.”

Doyle said his main pitches are a four-seam fastball, a curveball, slider and changeup. He started working on adding a slider to his mix this past year, and credits the effectiveness for helping him this spring.

“I think getting off to a good start to the year really helped me because I gained lot of confidence and that has kept me going,” Doyle said. “Jack Romsey has done a great job catching this year. He makes it a lot easier to pitch, knowing that he can control the game.”

Bulldogs in the UEC title hunt

Riverside-Brookfield is still in the running to win the Upstate Eight Conference.

The Bulldogs (15-7, 7-2) have a vital two-game series against division leader Glenbard East (13-8, 10-1) starting on Monday.

“We’re battling for a conference championship, but we have two tough weeks ahead of us,” R-B coach Mark Ori said. “We recently lost to Lincoln-Way West playing them at Northwestern, which was a cool experience for the boys. We lost a pitcher’s duel in the seventh inning against Bartlett but we just beat two sectional opponents in Fenwick and Reavis.”

Several players are stepping up for the Bulldogs this season, namely pitcher Michael Oppegard (6-1, 1.49 ERA), outfielder Ethan Smith (.471 average and 24 stolen bases), shortstop/pitcher Sean Campbell (team-high .507) and junior hurler Aiden Polich (3-1, 1.75 ERA).

“Michael continues to dominate on the mound,” Ori said. “Ethan continues to set the tone in the leadoff spot. He’s playing great defensively. Sean is leading us offensively and Aiden has been performing great.”

Around the horn

York wrapped up a strange week on Saturday by dropping a 10-5 decision at Lane Tech at Kerry Wood Field. The Dukes (15-3, 7-1) played only one game last week. Lyons (16-5, 8-2) opens up a three-game series against Hinsdale Central (9-11, 2-6) on Monday…Willowbrook (18-6, 11-1) is on a roll entering this week, winning six in a row to creep within two wins of the 20-victory mark.