Waubonsie Valley freshman catcher Shane Torres didn’t need to be told what to do.
Troy Kashul had just hit a sacrifice fly to get Naperville Central on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning of the DuPage Valley Conference Tournament championship game in Aurora on Thursday.
The visiting Redhawks had the tying run at the plate with Illinois State recruit Chase Reeder batting, so Torres called for time and went to the mound to talk with senior pitcher Ryan Morton.
“He did that on his own,” Morton said. “He’s smart like that. He knows I like a break, just a pause every once in a while. If they’re stringing a couple hits together, it’s good that he knows to go out and talk to me just to calm me down a little bit. I like it.”
Morton responded by quickly getting ahead of Reeder with two strikes. Reeder then singled to right to drive in Aiden Clark and pull the Redhawks within a run.
Even so, Morton and Torres weren’t especially worried.
“I was just trying to calm him down,” Torres said of his mound visit. “I really trust my team that we’re going to get more runs, so I feel like those two runs didn’t really matter.
“I said, ‘Calm down, throw some strikes, that’s it.’ If we score more runs, it doesn’t matter.”
The Redhawks didn’t score any more runs, primarily because Torres ended the inning by throwing out Reeder trying to steal second.
Then the Warriors erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by Ben Ford’s three-run homer, and won 10-2.
Morton pitched a complete game to get the victory, allowing seven hits and no walks while striking out four.
“He’s just a guy that throws a lot of strikes and is able to throw all three pitches for a strike,” Waubonsie Valley coach Bryan Acevedo said. “That’s what we saw today. They beat him the second game of the conference season. This is kind of a nice redemption for him.”
The combination of Morton and Torres gives the Warriors (21-9), who won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the DVC, a rare battery blending young and old.
“We have good chemistry,” Morton said. “He catches me almost every single time. He knows how I pitch.
“His defense is sharp. You can’t really beat him. He threw out two runners today, saving big innings from happening, so props to him.”
Torres got it done in all phases against the Redhawks (16-14), reaching base in each of his three plate appearances and driving in two runs. He singled during the Warriors’ two-run second inning, plated Joshua Hung with a single to make it 3-0 in the fourth and was hit by a pitch to force in a run in the sixth.
Torres began the season on the junior varsity team. But after four games, Acevedo elevated him to varsity when senior starter Tanner Atkins got injured.
“We had another senior, Ryan Gustaitis, who is our leadoff hitter, and we moved him into the outfield and DH because we saw something in the freshman,” Acevedo said. “And (Torres) has been really good.”
Torres said he began playing T-ball when he was 3 and started taking baseball seriously when he was 8. It’s his only sport.
“He’s got an incredible work ethic, but a lot of the credit, too, is due Tanner Atkins,” Acevedo said. “Now they’re kind of splitting time here and there, but Tanner has kind of taken him under his wing and really been a huge mentor for Shane. It’s been huge for our program.”
Torres is glad to be a part of the program. He didn’t expect to be on varsity so soon.
“It’s really hard at some points, trying to face all the hype and stuff like that,” he said. “I did good the first week, but then I struggled.
“And then today I was finally able to get my groove back, get some hits, contribute to my team a little bit better. I’ve been working really hard, so I believe that my hard work will pay off.”
Acevedo thinks Torres is right.
“He’s got good size,” Acevedo said. “I think he’s going to continue to get better, which is really good for us.”
Torres said playing for the Warriors is good for him.
“Since this is my first year here, it’s really something special to have a team so great,” he said. “It’s a great group of guys to hang out and play ball with.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
