HISTORY 2016
The WHAT? Sftbll Club finished the 2016 season with a decidedly pedestrian record of 32-45 after entering the season with higher expectations than anyone in softball. Just one season removed from winning the All-City play tournament championship, the team fell flat on their face in May, and it never got much better.
This year’s team will be remembered for a handful of things. But perhaps the most glaring of them all was the starting batting order’ incapability to be consistent. However, not everything surrounding this team was so disappointing. Ralph Lozano, Ryan Siembal, and Adam Tagli all set personal bests throughout 2016. They helped supplement an offense which kept this team as competitive as they could be throughout a long summer. As a result, the offense remained one of the most elite lineups in the league.
But many of the moves made, and many of the feats that were reached this season proved to be as useful as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. They was the lack of late inning clutch hitting that would have as much trouble finding their way out of a paper bag as they would getting through seven inning.
While the batting order struggled, WHAT? Sftbll was still able to retain the elite offense from years past. In the midst of a disappointing season for the team, the Club still own a top-ten spot in hits, doubles, walks, batting average, and OPS.
Lozano and Tagli led the way for the lineup, while the team also saw a bump from Siembal.
The threesome flirted with the MVP conversation all season long.
Although Siembal wasn’t sitting in an MVP conversation, he quietly had one of the best seasons by a WHAT? third basemen this decade.
As we look back at their season and spoke with GM Rusty Shackleford who claimed that “absentees and fatigue” took their toll on the squads. And that’s something you don’t hear much of anymore (blaming absentees for failure). And you don’t hear it because not only is it a lame excuse, but it ignores the fact that every team has key players miss a game or two. When the General Manager starts talking like that, it should be a red flag.
And besides praying for a healthy return of shortstop Danny Morales, he might also be concerned about the disappearance of second baseman Evan Berliner who broke off all lines of communication. Or the fact that the usual Lake County Clubs are still in the league and very much stand in the way of the WHAT? Sftbll who can’t afford to play catch up again next season.
The Tuesday Night Squad record stood at 13 - 7 in Mundelein.
It has been a well-known fact for a long time that the Tuesday night offense is built around the home run. When the Club hits at least three homers a game, they have an 11-0 record compared to 2-7 when they don't. They started out with an opening night double header lost to Sultans of Swing club, both games were tight.
So when the roster eventually came together the Club got hot winning 11 games in a row, showing that a lot of things were happening right.
The Wednesday Night Squad record stood at 1 - 19 in Waukegan.
Every team comes to expect a few bad losses over the course of a 20-game schedule, but the Wednesday Night Club had to absorb far too many gut punches. On opening night they played Grand Appliance that would stand as prime example as how the season would go. Losing both games in the 7th inning.
Whatever aspirations the Squad had on Wednesday nights in mind, this wasn’t it. Absentees play a big role and piled up fast as the season progressed. Shortstop Brad Shippee, pitcher Ralph Lozano, third baseman Evan Bierman and outfielder Bradley Daniel all missing significant time due to work schedule conflicts. Injuries also played a big role, with outfielder Joe Yonke and pitcher Kyle Schrader both miss game time due to season-ending maladies.
Veteran infielder Aaron Archibald took over the pitching responsibilities with several solid starts for the Wednesday Squad, outfielder Adam Tagli also contribute to the Squad stability, a true clubhouse leader and a fixture in the WHAT? Softball organization, Tagli played multi position and even pitch a game.
The Thursday Night Squad record stood at 11 - 1 in Libertyville.
Like any good organization, they relied on development. Outfielders Tommy Dubicki, Brad Callahan, Dylan Cartwright and infielders Noah Daniel and Connor Fitzgerald, drafted respectively in 2015 and '16, proved essential as the club jelled. The Squad also reached out to get what they needed to fill gaps with veteran infielders Matt Boley, Ryan Siembal and outfielders Kyle Risinger, Mike Gould.
The Younger Squad needed these additions to survive offensively and avoid wasting their superlative youth.
The younger Squad has followed that approach more often than not through four consecutive winning seasons.
"Pulling on the same rope" is a phrase that players occasionally use to describe this mindset. Winning it all in 2015 didn't soften the WHAT?' outlook. If anything, it made them more acutely aware of the challenges inherent in trying to become a champion.
On July 7th, the Squad defeated Emil’s Papa to a score of 10 - 7 and remain undefeated at 8 and 0, and clinch the Libertyville Thursday Night League Division Title. The game ended with All-Star shortstop Matt Boley making a spectacular defensive play on which he throw out base runner and onetime teammate Thomas Wolfer at first base to win the ball game and capture the title.
So What’s Next For The WHAT? Softball Club.
It's a fair question to ask, considering GM Rusty Shackleford said the WHAT? Club weren't done after the Kevin Matesi and Evan Bierman signing.
There's been a great deal of buzz concerning the high-impact rookie draft picks, namely Tommy Dubicki, Noah Daniel and Mike Nielsen, and last year’s rookies Ryan Dolan, Connor Fitzgerald, Brad Callahan and Dylan Cartwright as the WHAT? Softball continues to look for upgrades.
One of the best ways to answer those question is by making the most of opportunities when they appear. And then there are the comeback players. Ball players who had once played with the organization but had to step aside for reasons beyond their control, and so when the organization announced that Infielders Cal Haley and Nolan Sordyl and outfielder Eric Matthews had decided to return to the WHAT? organization after a 3 year layoff. They had answered all those questions with a single purpose -- win a championship.