Waleski lifts Calumet at Steel Yard

Updated: April 5, 2011 2:14PM

Calumet pitcher K.C. Waleski felt a little grumble in his stomach before he took the mound on Friday afternoon against Roosevelt in the first game of the inaugural Joe "Moose" Gates Classic at the Steel Yard.

But Waleski forgot about it once he toed the rubber and threw his first pitch. He struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning and finished with 14 strikeouts total in the Warriors' 15-5 win over the Panthers.

It was the season opener for both schools.

Waleski said he wanted to make a good impression in his debut at the annual RailCats High School Challenge, which is in its ninth season.

"I had a lot of fun and I thought I did pretty well, but I could have done better," said Waleski, who walked two and gave up just three earned runs in the complete-game victory. "This is my first time playing here. I played last year but I didn't get to play here. I was nervous when I came out but I overcame it."

Just playing in the first Gates Classic was an honor, according to Calumet coach Roger Azbill.

Gates was a Roosevelt graduate who once played in the Chicago White Sox' organization. He later coached at Wirt before the school closed its doors, and was a bench coach for the RailCats. His No. 45 jersey is retired and is displayed on the center-field wall at the Steel Yard.

Waleski has a long way to go before his number is retired, but he's hoping to be a major contributor to the pitching staff this year. He and four others are expected to carry this young squad in 2011.

The Warriors, who finished 8-15 last season, have a whole new infield this season, so there will be quite a bit of on-the-job training.

"(K.C.) is still a work in progress," Azbill said. "He's a junior and he's got some size to him but we're still working with him. He's around the plate all the time but we have to get him more velocity.

"This year we really don't have an ace. We have about five kids that are right there. You may see a freshman or sophomore come out (this afternoon)."

The Warriors, who put up 11 runs in the final four innings to solidify the victory, play the West Side-Lew Wallace winner at 4 p.m. in the Gates Classic championship today. Roosevelt will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. The West Side-Wallace game ended too late for this edition, thanks to a rain-delayed start of the first game.

Calumet finished with just six hits but made the most of 13 Panthers errors.

"Any time you can get a win it's enjoyable," Azbill said. "Especially on a cold and rainy night."

"We've got a couple kids out there that are trying to learn it the best they can. The kid at third (Danny Urbasewski) is a freshman and our shortstop (Marcus Jackson) is a sophomore. All JV players last year are up on the varsity so they're kind of learning it the hard way."

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