After a solid offseason, Oswego’s Brady Dunnett entered the spring with increased expectations.
The junior shortstop came into the season ranked No. 15 at shortstop in Illinois for the 2027 class by Prep Baseball Report and was being looked at as a key part of the Panthers’ lineup.
A slow start, however, got to him.
“I had a really shaky start to the year,” Dunnett said with a knowing nod. “I did not do well. Coach pulled me aside and was like, ‘We know you’ve got it. You’ve got to find it in yourself.’
“I think that was a really big talk that really helped me. I came back and started playing better, and I think the team started rolling a little bit.”
Following that mental reset, Dunnett is back thriving for Oswego. He was in the middle of many key moments Friday during the Panthers’ 7-6 nonconference comeback win at Kaneland.
Dunnett made a spectacular play to end the sixth, stranding a runner on third. He then singled and scored as part of the winning four-run rally in the seventh. He ended up 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.
Jackson Dietz, Luke Hernandez, Drew Kleinhans and Caleb Miller each had two hits for Oswego (15-16). Kanon Baxley went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs for Kaneland (14-11-1), while Brayden Boyer and Carter Grabowski added two hits apiece.
Oswego coach Joe Giarrante knows there are lessons learned along the way before players become seniors. The mental game is part of that, which is what he worked on with Dunnett.
“We had to coach him up a little bit and he took it to heart,” Giarrante said. “You can totally tell. He’s put in the work. He has a lot of confidence in himself.
“I think sometimes the routine stuff he gets a little careless with at times. We’ve worked with him. He’s a very baseball-minded kid. You can see it. When he hits, it’s there too.”
There wasn’t anything routine about the play Dunnett made to end the sixth.
Kaneland took a 6-2 lead in the second but never added on, although the Knights had a golden opportunity in the sixth with a one-out triple from Aidan Whildin while holding a 6-3 lead.
“We sat on six runs and just stayed there and didn’t pick away and that came back to haunt us,” Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said. “We were on a roll. We wanted to keep it going.
“We had good energy and it kind of died off.”
Dunnett made a spinning play at short to end the inning, stranding Whildin and giving the Panthers much-needed hope going into the seventh.
“I don’t think it would have changed us, really,” Dunnett said. “We’re a gritty team. Even if we’re not winning, we’re in the game until the end. I think we were still pretty confident.
It was a next-man-up situation. Just pass the baton. That’s what our mentality was.”
Cam Loghmani doubled and scored on a throwing error after Dunnett singled to open the inning. Hernandez drove in Dunnett with a sacrifice fly. Kleinhans singled home Miller to tie it.
Kleinhas then scored on Dietz’s single for a 7-6 lead.
“It’s a good win,” Giarrante said. “It’s nice to see them fight and claw to the very last out. It’s having that mentality and understanding that we have a good team.
“If you’re playing for your teammates, good things are going to happen.”
With the lessons learned, Dunnett is back to form and looking forward.
“I was obviously trying to find it myself, that mad feeling where you want to do better,” Dunnett said. “I think it’s important not to press in moments like that. Let it fall back on your training.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
