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PBR at The Rock 17U: Quick Hits, Day 2

July 24, 2021
Wisconsin Staff

Welcome to Quick Hits, a compilation of daily highlights captured at our PBR at The Rock tournaments. This weekend, we’re hosting our first tournament of the summer: the PBR at The Rock 17U Championships. Continue reading below to view our biggest takeaways from Day 2 action.

You can follow along with our coverage live by following us at @PBRWisconsin on Twitter.

+ Rhino Baseball's RHP Bryant Henderson (Normal West, 2022) tossed a complete game allowing just one run on four hits and striking out nine. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound righty worked a competitive 80-82 mph fastball paired with a sharp, high spinning slider at 70-72 mph. Christian Battista (Oswego East, 2022) paced the offense with a 3-for-3 day, driving in five RBI.

+ Hitters Navy grinded and competed their way to an early 9-1 win on Friday morning backed by an impressive outing from RHP Luke Klekamp (Oak Creek, 2022). Klekamp didn’t allow an earned run through six innings, striking out 13. He sat at 84-87, touching 88 mph a few times late in his outing and effectively challenged hitters, generating a high swing-and-miss rate with his fastball. Offensively, C Hayden Christiansen (Richmond-Burton, IL, 2022; Xavier) had two hits and homered, while OF Jonathan Kim (Brookfield Academy, 2022) and OF Tristan Ott (Oconomowoc, 2022) each had two hits. 

+ RHP Ryan Kramer (Latin School of Chicago, IL, 2022) threw an absolute gem for Windy City - Herbert in the morning slot, propelling them to a 3-1 victory. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound right-hander went the distance, allowing three hits and striking out 10 against a strong opposing lineup. He pumped his fastball in at 82-84 mph, touching 85 mph a few times and holding his velocity throughout. Kramer also threw two different breaking balls, including a curveball that showed sharp spin off an 11/5 plane at 66-67 mph. 

+ Top Tier North beat Silver Sluggers 6-0 in the first game at Oak Creek. Tier’s bats came alive at the plate putting together 10 hits. Colin Husko (Wauconda, IL, 2022), James Vargas (Arrowhead, IL, 2022) and Antonio Santa Cruz (Cary Grove, IL, 2022) all had multi-hit performances. Vargas had himself a day at the plate going 3-for-4 with two singles and an RBI triple in the top of the 7th. Micheal Addari (Libertyville, IL, 2022) started the game for Top Tier North and went five complete innings, allowing no runs on only three hits. James McCarthy (Saint Patrick, IL, 2022) came into the game in the 6th to get the save, not allowing a hit and striking out three after getting himself in a bases loaded jam. 

+ Hitters Baseball White 17U took on Rhino Baseball- Blaesing during our 3:30 slot. This was a pitchers duel to say the least, but RHP Robert Roguszka (Greenfield, 2022) came out victorious. Roguszka threw a complete game shut-out while scattering six hits, and four walks. Roguszka used advanced command of all three pitches to make this happen, keeping opposing hitters off balance from start to finish. 

+ RHP Kendall Lyons (Warren-Township, IL, 2022; Illinois-Chicago) helped pitch Hitters White 2022 to their second win of the day. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Lyons hurled five scoreless innings, only allowing two hits while striking out six. 

+ Midwest Halos Red won their second game of the weekend yesterday afternoon, backed by a strong outing from RHP Adam Balcerak (Muskego, 2022). Balcerak went the distance, striking out eight and he allowed just one earned run, too. He relied heavily on his fastball, a pitch that played at 83-86 mph with vertical carry into the zone from a lower release angle. Offensively, C Will Johannes (Mukwonago, 2022) blasted a three-run home run for the Halos. 

+ Minnesota Blizzard Blue defeated Pro Play 8-6 in their Friday afternoon game. Iowa commit Blake Guerin (Mounds View, 2022) came in the second inning out of the pen for the Blizzards, holding Pro Player’s offense scoreless for the remainder of the game. Guerin allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out five in 5 ⅓ innings. Ranked No. 18 in the state of Minnesota, Guerin worked with a short arm action out of a high ¾ slot. Working with a fastball, curveball combination, a four-seam fastball got up 84-85 mph, with an 11/5 curveball sitting in the low 70s. Guerin and INF Maddox Mihalakis (Hopkins, 2022; Arizona) both collected two hits in the game. 

+ Slammers-Coyote defeated Illinois Premier in a close 2-1 game. Jake Dasso (Carmel Catholic, IL, 2022) for Slammers threw a complete game allowing only one run, three hits and striking out five. Throughout the game he worked with a three pitch combination, fastball, 11/5 curveball and change-up.  At the plate the Slammers were able to put together six hits. The game was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the sixth when Gabriel Lynch (Carmel Catholic, IL, 2022) was walked, then the following batter Cade Nowik (Lake Forest, IL, 2022) executed the perfect hit and run. Hitting a hard ground ball right past the pitcher and into center field allowing Lynch to score from first. Dasso came out for the seventh, sealing the game with a strikeout and two pop flys. 

+ Pro Player Canes Green swung it well and early on Friday, winning their second game of the day 16-4. Four different Canes homered in the win: C Ryan Kelly (Huntley, 2022), INF Joseph Taylor (Grant, 2022), RHP/SS Kyle Kaempf (McHenry, 2022), and 1B Chase Jetel (Huntley, 2022). Jetel also doubled twice and Kelly added a double of his own, too. On the mound for Pro Player, RHP Tyler Deleskiewicz (Badger, WI, 2022) is amongst the top uncommitted arms in the Midwest. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound right-hander pumped his fastball in at 89-91, touching 92 mph throughout from a quick, whippy arm and also flashed swing-and-miss spin on a handful of sliders, too. Deleskiewicz threw five innings, striking out 10. 

+ At six o’clock, Rake City Gold took on Brew State Baseball Academy 17U. On the mound for Rake City was southpaw Teddy Andrews (Hinsdale Central, 2022). At 6-foot-3 and 186-pounds, Andrews brings a competitive presence to the mound. Throughout the game his fastball sat 84-86 and topped at 87 mph with slight arm side movement. He flashed a solid breaking ball with 1/7 break at 70-72 mph. He used his full arsenal to only allow one hit and zero earned runs through his 3.1 innings of work. 

+ During the nightcap, GRB Rays MKE Green exploded for 13 runs against Chicago Elite 2022. LHP/OF Michael Carpenter (Arrowhead, 2022) led the way for the Rays as he had four RBI’s. INF Max Stocco (Marquette University HS, 2022; Lenoir Rhyne), INF Cade Honkamp (Brookfield East, 2022), RHP/C Jacob Stevens (Arrowhead, 2022), INF Nolan Gawrych (West Bend East, 2022), and MIF Ben Krogwold (Brookfield East, 2022) all added an RBI each in this offensive outburst for this GRB Rays MKE squad. 

+ Chicago Elite and Minnesota Blizzards showcased two top starting arms in their Friday night matchup as Chicago Elite went on to win 5-3. Jake Swartz (Normal University, 2022) a University of Illinois commit, got the ball for Chicago Elite. Swartz earned the win going 4 ⅓  innings allowing one run on two hits, four walks and struck out three. The right-handed pitcher works from a short, quick arm action from a high ¾ slot. Swartz throws a four seam type fastball with life sitting 87-90 mph and a true 12/6 curveball at 77-80 mph. Uncommitted LHP Kale Hopke (Amery, 2022) got the start for the Minnesota Blizzards. The southpaw threw five innings giving up three runs, on six hits, two walks and struck out nine. From a short arm action and high ¾ slot, Hopke fastball’s, working with hard arm-side run, thrown 86-87 mph early in the outing. Backing up the fastball was a wipeout 2/8 slider with, creating swing and misses, sitting 77-78 mph. 

+ Our night cap featured an incredibly impressive arm with one of the highest ceilings in the class, if not the Midwest: LHP Christian Oppor (Columbus, 2022). Still uncommitted, Oppor routinely attacked hitters with his fastball through three innings, pumping it in at 89-93, touching 94 mph. With electric arm speed, advanced athleticism, and a projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, Oppor’s potential is truly immense. Following Oppor in relief, INF/RHP Nick West (Verona Area, 2022) showed above-average arm strength inside a strong, broad-shouldered 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame to muscle his fastball past hitters at 84-87 mph. 

+ Opposing Oppor for Minnesota Starters was RHP Cade Wiegert (Southwest Christian, 2022), who’s one of the top uncommitted arms in Minnesota. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Wiegert brings a polished, competitive presence to the mound and he looked the part throughout, too. He worked his fastballs on the corners at 86-88 mph, touching 89 mph a few times early. Though he’s still developing his off-speed, Wiegert threw his slider at fastball arm speed at 76-78 mph and showed the feel to land it for strikes, too. 

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