Sometimes, a pitcher just doesn’t have his full arsenal on hand, as was the case for Wednesday afternoon for Burlington Central’s Sam Maglares against Dundee-Crown.
The senior right-hander’s curveball was spotty. His change-up was so off that Kyle Nelson pointed out that he never even called one for the first time in his coaching career.
Maglares still had his fastball, however, so he went to work.
“Definitely wasn’t my best stuff,” he said. “It was about finding a rhythm, especially in the early innings. Once you find that rhythm, just stick with it. It was definitely an uglier game.
“But it feels nice to get the job done, for sure.”
Maglares finished one out shy of a complete game for the Rockets in a 4-2 Fox Valley Conference win. He struck out five, allowing two unearned runs on seven hits and two walks.
Daniel Koertgen went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Tyler Kotwica scored twice for Burlington Central (12-15-2, 6-11). Shane DeMarsh and Kaden Klancnik each went 2-for-3 for Dundee-Crown (9-18, 1-15).
As the pitch caller for the Rockets, Nelson knew early on he was going to have to rely on the old No. 1 to guide Maglares through his outing Wednesday.
“He was locating his fastball down and away pretty well but didn’t have his breaking ball early,” Nelson said of Maglares. “He was able to locate his fastball so well and he throws relatively hard.
“He had a ‘show’ curveball. Didn’t have his best one. He was able to get outs with his fastball.”
Maglares has teamed up with Aidric Arndt atop the rotation all season, something the Rockets figure to ride into the postseason.
“He’s been a leader for us on the mound,” Nelson said. “He’s been battling all year. He’s been a workhorse for us. He’s made some great strides from last year to this year.
“He’s going to be a guy that gets the ball for us in the playoffs.”
After pitching behind ace Chase Powrozek last season, Maglares was ready for this assignment.
“It was nice to fit into that role, being somebody that the team can rely on,” Maglares said. “The stats might not be as good as last year, but we’re playing quality baseball.
“I think I’m throwing fine, so I’ll keep moving forward.”
Maglares and Klancnik, who was making his first varsity start, were locked in a pitcher’s duel early.
Each team scored twice in the fourth inning to break the ice. Consecutive RBI singles from Connor Sreckov and Koertgen in the fifth proved to be the difference.
“Kaden has been in a relief role for us,” Dundee-Crown coach Andrew Zimmer said. “He didn’t throw a whole lot last year, but we love him out of the pen.
“We used him as a starter (Wednesday) and we loved that too. We’re really happy he kept us in the ballgame against a quality team.”
Maglares made the difficult decision to give up baseball in college. As he tries to enjoy his last few weeks of high school, he’ll prepare to major in finance next year at Iowa.
“I’m definitely trying to take it all in,” Maglares said. “I think I could pitch in college somewhere, but that’s not my thing. I decided sophomore year. I definitely went back and forth about it, but I’m happy with my decision.”
The Rockets had gone 3-7 in their last 10 games before Wednesday. Seeing his team come through in a tight game was nice for Maglares, who hopes to be part of one more playoff run.
“It wasn’t all about winning the game,” Maglares said. “It was about getting better from bad situations. If we make an error or don’t have a quality at-bat, coming back against that is something that will be big in the playoffs.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
