Baseball: Rock Falls ready to build on latest regional title

A strong finish to last season and several returning players could lead to big things this spring for the Rock Falls baseball team.

Despite a bumpy road in 2021, the Rockets still claimed their 13th regional title under newly minted hall-of-fame coach Donnie Chappell, now entering his 23rd season as head coach at his alma mater after passing the 500-win milestone a year ago.

Last year was just the third during Chappell’s tenure that Rock Falls finished below .500, but bringing home a plaque at the end of it made things feel a lot better.

“The kids know the expectations are never going to change,” Chappell said. “Even last year, we had a rough year, but I kept telling them all year, ‘Guys, we’re still going to win the regional.’ It was funny, because when we ended up winning, they told me, ‘Wow, you were right!’ I mean, I didn’t know that for sure, but I knew we had the ability because we had the two pitchers who could do it.”

That’s always been the mainstay for the Rockets: strong starting pitching. Some years they have a lot more depth than others, but it always seems like Rock Falls has a couple of hurlers who can get outs in big games. This spring looks like more of the same.

“We have some really good top-end pitching,” Chappell said. “I don’t know if we have enough pitching depth to go out and win 25 games, because our schedule is tough, but by the end of the year, we should be pretty good.”

The Rockets also hang their hats on fundamentals in the field and smart approaches at the plate. This year’s players say that will continue in 2022.

“I think we’re really going to be able to show our all-around game, and really be able to show people what we’re made of,” sophomore Gavin Sands said.

“I think we’re pretty good everywhere, a lot of good hitters and pitchers this year, for sure,” senior Dillon Schueler added. “Good fielders, good fundamental players, and that’s all it takes.”

Shortstop has been the anchor for Chappell’s teams, and he’s been blessed to have several studs at the position. The list of names reads like a who’s who of all-area first-teamers and players of the year: Jorge Acosta, Robbie Minor, Seth Blair, Jake Junis, Brett Chappell, Noah Junis, Chase Chappell.

Donnie’s younger son is now playing at SVCC, and another underclassman is looking to take the reins of that position for the next few years.

“We’ve been really lucky and had a lot of great players come through here. More than great players, we’ve had really good leaders,” coach Chappell said. “I’ve had six or seven shortstops in 20-some years, and now we have another one there to anchor things; Sands is going to be unbelievable, I think his potential us through the roof, too, so it’s another kid that can play high-level college baseball if that’s what he wants to do. I’ve been really lucky with that.”

This season has already started better than last year for every team in the state, as it’s back to the usual two weeks to prepare for this spring. Last year, with the condensed IHSA calendar due to the COVID pandemic, there wasn’t as much time for teams to find their footing before the first game.

“We’re definitely more in rhythm this year because we’ve got three weeks to practice before our first game, compared to last year where we had to jump right into it and start playing games without many practices to get ready,” Schueler said. “It’s definitely a lot better compared to last year. I’m excited, for sure.”

Schueler is one of three seniors on the Rock Falls roster, to go with eight juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. Schueler, Sands, juniors Brady Richards, Victor Rivera, Isaiah Kobbeman, Brady Dowd, and sophomore Carter Schueler all saw significant playing time a year ago, and will all be looked to for leadership with a young team this spring.

Having so many familiar faces in the dugout and the lineup will help the Rockets fight through whatever adversity comes their way throughout the season.

“That’s a big thing that we have, is a lot of flow with each other. We really get along well and mesh with each other,” Sands said. “At the end of the day, we’re really just going to have to rely on each other, and we’re going to have to be able to trust each other to make the right plays and do the right thing in every situation.”

Youth is something that’s never really bothered Chappell. He’s never been afraid to use younger players in key positions or crucial situations, and he feels like there are some new guys that will open some eyes again this season.

“I think we have a chance to be pretty good this year. We’ve got a lot of question marks like everybody else, but we finished really strong last year, and we were really young,” Chappell said. “We did lose a couple of really good players in Chase and Luke Akerman, but we were so young last year – and our freshman group this year, it’s probably the best group as a whole we’ve had in a long time, so we’re really excited about that too; maybe one of them will even be up with us. It’s exciting.”

The fact that the Rockets were playing their best ball at the end of last season is something that these players have thought about a lot over the offseason, and it’s made them hungry to go out and taste some more of the success this spring.

“Hopefully we can win regionals again. That was pretty fun last year,” Schueler said. “And hopefully get a little bit farther this time. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back this year that have that experience in the playoffs now, a lot of young players and some good talent, and I think that’s definitely going to help us maybe make a longer playoff run this year.”

“I think the end of last season is really going to translate over, and it’s going to push us toward that goal again, and possibly to go even further,” Sands said.

The Rockets open the season Monday, March 21, when they host Stillman Valley.