Northwestern recruit Jake Rifenburg, stellar pitching staff lead Benet into first IHSA state semifinal

Jake Rifenburg is an absolute competitor in whatever he does.

That goes to whenever the lefty Benet senior pitcher is on the mound, in games or bullpens. Or with his fielding.

Even, yes, in batting practice.

The Northwestern recruit does not hit in games, and he will be a pitcher only in college. But Rifenburg’s competitive streak burns hot when Benet pitchers get to bat in practice.

“It’s funny, I do take BP seriously, those are my few last swings as a pitcher,” Rifenburg said. “I’m really attacking practices and I’m swinging for the fences in BP. I hit a couple of them out today. All jokes aside, it’s really important for me to play with a good spirit.”

Rifenburg, from Downers Grove, is the ace of a deep Benet pitching staff that’s been the linchpin of the program’s first state tournament run since 1989.

He is expected to be on the mound at 1 p.m. Friday at Joliet’s Duly Health & Care Field when Benet (26-12) plays Cary-Grove (25-12) in a Class 3A semifinal.

It is the deepest postseason advancement in Benet baseball history. In 1989, the Redwings lost in the Class AA quarterfinals.

And Benet can thank a pitching staff that’s thrown three shutouts in five playoff games. Jonny Rossi, 5-0 with a 2.28 ERA, threw 5⅓ innings of one-run baseball in Monday’s supersectional win over Geneseo.

Wichita State commit Gino Zagorac, who shut out St. Francis in the sectional final, is 5-2 with a 2.49 ERA over 45 innings.

“We knew pitching would set the tone for us and buy us some time replacing six or seven guys in our lineup,” Benet co-coach Jorge Acosta said. “We knew the pitching would give us a chance every time out and it has. I can’t think of one game our pitching let us down.”

Rifenburg, who pitched into the ninth inning of Benet’s dramatic 3-0 win over Burlington Central in a sectional semifinal, carries a 5-3 record and 0.89 ERA with 80 strikeouts over 55 innings into Friday’s game.

“He’s obviously talented and been better every year,” Acosta said, “executing secondary pitches, keeping hitters off balance, throwing his breaking stuff whenever he wants. His way of pitching sets the tone for us. He works fast, throws strikes, is athletic of the mound fielding his position. He’s been really really good all year long.”

Acosta and the Benet coaching staff have coined this year’s playoff run as a bit of a redemption tour.

They beat Glenbard South, who beat Benet in a 2023 regional semifinal with Rifenburg on the mound, in their first playoff game. The Redwings beat Kaneland in a back-and-forth regional final at Kaneland, reversing the outcome of a 2022 regional final.

And then Benet beat Burlington Central in the sectional semifinal, in the same pitching matchup, Rifenburg versus Chase Powrozek, as last year’s Rockets’ win.

“It could have gone the other way there,” Rifenburg said.

“It’s been a fun ride. We’ve been fortunate, man,” Acosta said. “We want to keep our kids level-headed and compete.”

Acosta, who won a basketball state title as a player at Rock Falls in 1999, has been at Benet alongside Scott Lawler since the 2013-2014 school year, building the program up.

Benet’s last sectional champ, in 2017, ran into St. Viator and current Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet in supersectionals. Acosta felt the 2020 team that lost the season to the pandemic was stacked, seven pitchers deep.

“This has been a long time in the making,” Acosta said. “Rifenburg is a kid who’s come to our camps since he was a young kid, came here and bleeds Benet. It might be a situation Friday where we might have to calm him down a little bit.”

Rifenburg, too, can count on teammates and good friends he calls brothers to help with that. Guys like Merrick Sullivan, who had the big hits against Burlington Central and St. Francis and is batting .364 with a team-high 16 doubles and 33 RBIs.

“Before every inning when we finish throwing it around, Merrick will give me the ball, and we’ll take a deep breath together. We know everything will be OK,” Rifenburg said. “Everybody has my back. That helps me pitch well in high-pressure games.”

The Redwings in Cary-Grove will get an opponent likewise new to the state tournament, making its first appearance since 2009. UIC recruit Charlie Taczy, 9-2 with a 1.25 ERA, will likely oppose Rifenburg Friday.

“I know they’re a very scrappy team, going to play small ball to try to make us make mistakes and that’s what we’ll try to do,” Rifenburg said. “They can play fundamentally solid. As long as we play with a confident feeling I think we’ll be fine.”