A two-out bloop single that scored a run in the second inning didn’t rattle Johnsburg pitcher Peyton Mesce.

Neither did back-to-back walks he issued after two out in the sixth, which prompted a mound visit by pitching coach Ryan Linkletter.

Truth is, these days, few things mess up Mesce.

Which wasn’t always the case when the high school senior was playing Little League.

“He was a very emotional kid,” said Johnsburg coach Eric Toussaint, who coached Mesce and coached against him in Little League. “When I coached against him, we knew if we got to him, he was in trouble emotionally. He’s totally matured now. When something goes bad, or something doesn’t go his way, he doesn’t get mad and lose it. It makes him better. He refocuses.”

Mesce’s maturity was on display Monday, as Johnsburg opened defense of its Kishwaukee River Conference championship by beating visiting Richmond-Burton 7-1. Mesce, a 6-foot right-hander, allowed only two hits and struck out seven.

“Peyton was phenomenal,” Toussaint said.

For the season, Mesce (2-1) has pitched 18 innings and allowed only three earned runs for a 0.70 ERA, while striking out 30 and walking only seven.

“Definitely [throwing] my curveball in the zone, hitting zones and getting the spots that I need to get to have helped me,” Mesce said.

Johnsburg’s offense helped stake Mesce to an early lead. The Skyhawks (7-2) touched R-B starter Grayson Morningstar for two runs in the first inning thanks to RBI singles by Jack Thompson – after Nate Frost led off with a triple into the right-field corner – and Josh Speer.

Speer’s two-out, bases-loaded, RBI single on a 1-2 count keyed a five-run fourth and extended the Skyhawks’ lead to 3-1. The junior third baseman finished 2 for 3.

“Josh Speer is on fire right now,” Toussaint said. “Pre-season, he was one of the kids who I was like, ‘He’s the one who’s going to need to hit for us,’ and then the season started and I would say the first three or four games he couldn’t hit. It was not pretty. Then at a practice, he started smoking everything. Ryan Linkletter worked with him a little bit, and now [the baseball] looks like a beach ball to him.”

Rockets coach Mike Giese pulled Morningstar after the junior righty issued back-to-back, bases-loaded walks to Mesce and Jacob Smith (1 for 2) in the fifth. Morningstar was charged with all seven runs, five of which were earned, in 4⅔ innings.

“They beat us in the batter’s box,” Giese said of the Skyhawks. “They got some hits going early, and then they got some timely hitting when they needed. We got to be tougher in the batter’s box. ... Their pitcher was better than ours today, just a little bit more. Grayson pitched well, but [Mesce] pitched a notch higher.”

The only run R-B (5-4) managed came in the second when Lucas Bynum’s shallow fly ball fell in left-center field with two out. Anthony Harvey had led off the inning with a double into right-center that hopped up against the fence.

In the top of the sixth, Mesce walked two in a row after two out, then got a 6-4 force out to end the threat.

In his third varsity season, Mesce has taken another step. He was the Skyhawks’ No. 3 pitcher last season.

“Big improvement [since sophomore year],” Mesce said. “Sophomore year was not the greatest. Junior year I got up there. Now senior year I’m going for it all.”

He’s got a plan beyond this season. During the offseason, he committed to pitch next year for Kishwaukee College, a community college in Malta.

“I didn’t want to go D-III,” Mesce said. “I was like, ‘Why don’t I give myself a chance to go to a two-year school, pay less money and get more exposure there to go to a bigger school?’ ”

R-B gets a rematch with Johnsburg on Wednesday in Richmond. The Rockets, who also got hits from Colton Schwind and Max Martin, are only three wins shy of matching last season’s total of eight.

“We’re definitely in a better place than we were a year ago,” Giese said. “Our starting pitching’s been really good. We’re a little bit streaky in the batter’s box, and that’s going to be what drives us this year. If we go to the batter’s box and struggle, we’re going to struggle. If we can come alive a little bit as the temperatures warm up, then we’re going to have a chance.”