Experience paying off for Dundee-Crown

Updated: June 1, 2011 12:37AM

Jon Sawyer faced a difficult task when he took over as Dundee-Crown’s baseball coach three years ago.

The Chargers had four sophomores and one freshman in the starting lineup during that 2009 season, so Sawyer and assistant coach Hank Faulkner brought the youngsters together and laid out a road map.

“They pulled us into a room and told us that we’re rebuilding and these next couple years would be tough,” D-C senior Steve Schwartz said. “They basically told us that our senior year would be the year to put together a run.”

Fast forward three years and Schwartz is part of a veteran D-C squad that is making good on that plan. Fresh off their first regional title since 2007, the Chargers take on Cary-Grove on Thursday in the DeKalb Class 4A Sectional semifinals.

“It pretty much played out how they planned it,” Schwartz said. “We’re just trying to keep this thing going.”

D-C’s lineup hasn’t changed much during Sawyer’s tenure. Schwartz, senior third baseman Nick Spagnola and senior first baseman Kirk Hanselmann have been fixtures on the infield the past three seasons. Senior Scott Nowicke and junior Jake Romano have been starting outfielders during that same time span.

On top of the three-year experience those five players boast, senior second baseman Corey Volberding, senior pitcher Mike Lodi and sophomore catcher Dylan Kissack are in their second seasons as varsity starters. Seniors Jimmy Griffin and Chris Lamprecht and juniors Chris Gorman, Tyler Gross and Erik Brewer are also returning varsity players.

All that experience is finally paying off for D-C. After compiling an 8-23 record in 2009 and a 13-23 mark in 2010, the team found a way to break through this spring and carries a 24-13 record into the sectional.

“We all know each other’s strengths and each other’s weaknesses,” Hanselmann said. “We know how to help each other out and we’re always talking out on the field. We definitely know how to motivate each other, which is great.”

The last time D-C notched 20 wins was in 2007, and that team advanced to the State Finals in what was longtime coach Fred Bencriscutto’s second- to- last season at the helm. Bencriscutto also led the Chargers to the State Finals in 2001 and helped turn the Chargers into a force to be reckoned with during his 18-year run as the program’s head coach.

Sawyer is a D-C graduate who played for Bencriscutto, making him a natural choice to take over the team when Bencriscutto retired following the 2009 campaign. Now Sawyer’s days as the Chargers coachbench boss are limited as he announced last month that District 300’s budget woes led him to seek and ultimately land a job working at Grayslake North next fallyear.

That difficult decision makes D-C’s current return to prominence that much more satisfying for Sawyer.

“I have a special place in my heart for D-C baseball having played here,” Sawyer said. “I definitely wanted to see it get back to some respectability, and I think we were able to do that this year. And I think the program is in a good place for the future too.”

The Chargers certainly will miss this year’s group of seniors, several of whom will continue their playing careers in college. Schwartz is committed to Roosevelt University, Spagnola is bound for North Park University and Lodi plans to play at Quincy University.

Despite those imeminent departures, Sawyer’s contention that the future is bright at D-C certainly carries weight. Romano is a Division-I prospect who is expected to be back for his fourth year in center field next season. Junior Mike Hazelhurst is another likely returner who has emerged as the ace of a pitching staff that includes fellow juniors Gross and Brewer.

In the meantime, the Chargers have unfinished business as they prepare for the DeKalb Sectional. D-C split its two meetings with Fox Valley Conference Valley Division foe Cary-Grove (27-9), winning 5-4 on May 12 before losing 9-4 the next day.

The Trojans have several Division-I prospects of their own and are looking to make their second trip to the State Finals in three years.

“We know them really well and we have a lot of respect for what they do over there,” Sawyer said. “They are a great team and a great program and we definitely have our work cut out for us.”

While the task at hand is difficult, D-C’s players aren’t satisfied with what they’ve already accomplished. Winning the program’s seventh regional title was nice, but claiming its third sectional title this week would be even better.

“For me this is completely full circle,” Hanselmann said. “My sister actually dated a pitcher on the state team in 2007, so I went to all those games as an eighth grader. Back then I always would think that I wanted to be out there playing in the regional or in the sectional some day.

“It just feels great to be considered in conversations with some of the amazing teams and players that have gone to this school. The support that we’ve gotten from some of those former players just shows how this is like a family, and we want to keep the tradition going.”BASEB

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