Roberts flying high for Redwings

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The scouts raise their radar guns in unison, stiff arms extended. They then bow their heads to chart the pitch, in what almost looks to be a religious ritual.

Bryan Roberts says he tries to push this to the back of his mind, and for Benet his presence changes the game's entire psychology.

"Whenever you have Bryan on the mound," Benet outfielder Mike Chmielewski says, "you think anything's possible."

The pitcher spins two-consecutive breaking balls to Joliet Catholic's leadoff hitter, measuring 72 and 71 mph. The next batter is greeted with back-to-back fastballs that hit 88 and 89 mph. And just like that the Hilltoppers -- at that moment the Chicago area's No. 1-ranked team in several polls -- will be kept off-balance on a chilling Tuesday afternoon into evening.

The senior is the only Benet player granted the freedom to call his own game, a responsibility normally reserved for pitching coach Jim Fornaciari. As a former -- and perhaps future -- catcher, Roberts possesses a unique insight into a hitter's hopes and fears.

"You talk to hitters, and they go, 'Oh my God, I hate that pitch,'" Roberts says. "You just kind of remember things like that ... you know where they are in the box, their stance, how their swing looks like. You get a much closer look at it."

Fornaciari is impressed with his pitcher's businesslike manner, the ability to block out pregame distractions -- an opponent's bus pulling up to the field, AWOL umpires, the threat of rain, it doesn't matter.

"He's out there with his buddies havin' fun and smilin', but when he's around the coaching staff, it's much more of kind of an adult conversation that we would have with him," Fornaciari says. "He can talk to us, you know, like peers in some way, 'Hey, how do you think we should get this guy out?'"

Countless decisions will go into this East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown, and there will be many more over the coming weeks. But like when the catcher puts down the signal, Roberts should have some form of veto power.

Working out of a jam

The Benet field seems cut out of a residential neighborhood and dropped behind the school. When hitters foul off balls, behind the net rising from the brick backstop, you wait and listen for the crash. This is where scouts representing the St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays ventured last week.

John Ruettiger, an Arizona State recruit and the other primary draw for the major league representatives, steps to the plate with one out in the sixth inning of a scoreless game. Roberts had been working the left-handed Ruettiger away, inducing groundballs back to the mound the two previous at-bats.

Ruettiger wins this battle, smacking a double down the left-field line, but Roberts knows how to escape awkward situations.

In the fall Roberts took a visit to Villanova, and the entire weekend dodged calls from the Illinois staff, which entered the recruiting process late. He missed a few while playing in suburban Philadelphia, plus his phone died anyway.

There was no chance to call back immediately, but when he did on Monday, he arranged a trip to Champaign the following weekend, and committed to the Illini in October once he returned home.

Roberts works out of this jam even quicker. After falling behind 2-0 to Nick Ratajczak, Joliet Catholic's No. 3 hitter, Roberts fires a strike, and then gets him to foul off a ball. Roberts freezes Ratajczak on a 2-2 pitch and then strikes out the next batter to end the inning.

"It boosts your confidence, for sure, when he gets 15 strikeouts a game, huh?" Benet shortstop Alex Staehely says. "You only have to make six plays and go play seven innings. It makes it a lot easier."

Illinois coach Dan Hartleb appreciates the aggressive approach from a player who caught his sophomore and junior seasons.

"I like his mentality. He goes to the mound with a catcher's mentality," Hartleb says. "And I think he has that toughness."

Roberts shares his information, and junior pitcher John Boyle considers him a kind of mentor. Roberts is a source to ask about pitch sequences, or how to grip a ball to gain movement.

"Just through past experience, mistakes that I've made," Roberts says. "I just try to give them the same advice the seniors before had given me."

Changing planes

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound pitcher says he feels stronger as the game progresses, and as evidence he strikes out eight of the final 11 batters he faces in a 3-0 complete-game victory.

That athletic frame helps explain his endurance -- one scout still charted Roberts at 86 to 88 mph near the end -- and why Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake thinks Illinois is receiving a major Division I player at two positions.

The Illini recruited Roberts primarily as a pitcher. It would be difficult at that level, Hartleb says, to pitch and catch, because of the arm stress.

"At the same time, if he can bring some things to the table from an offensive standpoint, then that gives us options and we can try to get him on the field in another capacity," Hartleb says. "If he can do some things offensively, then we can look at other scenarios -- DH, first base, you know, outfield, third base. ... He's a good athlete so there would be options."

So June draft projections are a bit unclear for a position player batting .446 with four homers and 20 RBIs, and a pitcher with a 0.56 ERA and 79 strikeouts. While his curveball may change planes and drop down suddenly, for now the sturdy Roberts doesn't seem like he'll be moved off course.

"I'm just here to play right now. It doesn't really affect me," Roberts says. "I'm just excited to play the rest of the season and go to college after this."

By all accounts a kid with a big-league nickname -- B-Rob -- doesn't appear to have a big-time attitude. Roberts hopes to study business at Illinois, but until then he's on the periphery of an industry his coach doesn't always understand.

"Some scouts -- it's funny -- I mean some scouts have told me they don't think he'll be a good college pitcher," Bonebrake says. "I wonder what they're looking for then."