How has Brimfield/Elmwood baseball won its first 10 games? 'We're just having fun'
BRIMFIELD — Enjoying the game of baseball seems to be a crucial component for Brimfield/Elmwood's early-season success.
“The biggest thing is we’re just having fun together,” senior Drew Bryant said. “Not overthinking stuff. Just having fun playing baseball.”
With a 10-0 record, it’s very easy to see how gratifying the 2022 campaign has been thus far for the longstanding co-op of Peoria County schools. A 4-3 walk-off win over Illinois Valley Central on Tuesday avenged last year’s Class 2A regional semifinal loss.
Brimfield, a perennial 2A contender, had back-to-back Elite Eight appearances prior to the COVID-19 canceled 2020 season. But there has been little talk of goals or season milestones.
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“We just compete,” Brimfield coach Brandon Porter said, “We really haven’t talked about expectations as we … start playing a little bit more, we’ll touch base on that, but it’s really, it’s just, every day get better, next game up — bring it.”
And Brimfield has done more than their fair share of taking both offense and defense to the diamond.
The Indians, who boast six starters from last year’s 20-5 team, is hitting .326 as a team, scoring 10.7 runs a game with 76 RBIs and 26 extra-base hits including six home runs to go with 50 stolen bases. Frank Kelch’s .481 average and 14 RBIs both are team-highs, with Jude Strahm hitting .400 and Kyle Binder has three homers, 12 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.
Kelch may only have one long ball, but he’s a threat every time he steps in the batter’s box.
“You never know when he’s just going to put a ball out,” Bryant said. “It’ll be out as soon as you see it off the bat. It’s nice.”
Pitching plays a role, too
As good as Brimfield’s hitters seem to be, the pitching staff might be the squad’s biggest asset. Seven pitchers have at least five innings with Austin Baysingar leading the charge with a 3-0 mark in four appearances across 11 innings. He and Michael Seibert each have 19 strikeouts, while Kelch — fresh off Tommy John surgery — is back in the mix with 16 putouts in nine innings.
“I’d say composure,” Kelch said of how he’s seen himself progress. “Now, I know what I’m doing, and I have a clue. Performance-wise, now I just have to base it off junior year and keep going.”
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Added Bryant, “We’ve hit well but we’ve struggled sometimes, and pitching’s really been there for us. If we can get hitting to come through consistently, too, then we’ll definitely start clicking.”
Porter says he’s like what he’s seen from Kelch, who will play at Carl Sandburg, and Bryant — headed to pitch for Augustana College — and how they’ve handled bringing along the underclassmen in sophomores Strahm and Binder as well as freshman Brady Johnson. A big factor, Porter credits, is his team’s chemistry.
Everyone seems to get along and do their job.
“From a leader standpoint, (Kelch and Bryant have) been there, done that,” Porter said. “They’re two of the guys that have been here, started since Day 1.”
Brimfield has early experience
While most teams have yet to play more than a couple of games, Porter’s schedule was frontloaded with the off-chance the mid-March weather would be favorable. Brimfield played seven games in the first eight days including a trio of contests down on the turf field in Jacksonville.
That proved to be a nice start to the season, which has now seen five of its last eight games cancelled or postponed.
“We took advantage of the weather,” Porter said. “We book early, just hopefully, we can get those in. This year it was nice weather early.”
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Brimfield’s first game came just days after the girls basketball team hoisted the Class 1A state championship trophy. Two parallels in the programs are both teams have tough schedules in preparation for the postseason.
More than anything, Porter says, it’s about his team having confidence in themselves and each other.
“Coming off a season like what the girls had is always motivation,” Porter said. “They did it. We can do it too.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: How Brimfield/Elmwood has started the season 10-0
