St. Charles North’s Nolan Macholz came into tryouts excited about earning an opportunity to play.
With the North Stars graduating 16 seniors off last season’s team, opportunities were abundant. Still, coach Todd Genke didn’t know what to expect from his junior second baseman.
“We were hopeful,” Genke said of Macholz. “He jumped up at our tryouts. We knew he was a solid player coming up. I give him a ton of credit because we weren’t quite sure what he was.
“He’s proving he belongs on this team, belongs in the middle of the order, belongs in the middle of the field. All of the things that you want to see your players do, he does them and then some.”
Macholz showed off some of those skills Monday afternoon in a 7-2 DuKane Conference victory at Batavia. He laid down a perfect squeeze bunt in the third inning to score Ty Heimbuch.
In the seventh, Macholz bunted for another hit and later scored. He now leads St. Charles North (6-6, 2-2) with 14 hits. Julian Harmon also went 3-for-4, scored a run and stole a base.
Keaton Reinke picked up the win, striking out 10 in six innings and allowing two runs on five hits and three walks. Ryan Rodriguez delivered with a two-run double for Batavia (5-10-1, 2-2).
Those bunt hits by Macholz, however, were not by accident. Despite batting fifth in the order for the North Stars, he won’t hesitate to drop down a bunt if the situation calls for it.
“I take a lot of pride in bunting,” Macholz said. “I practice it every day. Every day, I start off my BP (batting practice) with two or three bunts to third base and two or three bunts to first base.
“It’s a great way to get the team going, a great way to get the momentum going.”
Heads-up plays by Macholz feed into what has been a pleasant surprise for Genke.
“I love his baseball IQ,” Genke said. “He does things that most kids don’t realize at the moment. He’s a gamer. He sprints on and off the field. He’s the kind of kid you want in your program.”
Macholz said he developed that keen baseball sense from an early age.
“Honestly, just playing the game from a young age and watching it from a young age,” Macholz said. “I’ve always watched the Cubs with my dad, big Cubs fan. My dad was a season ticket holder for a long time. Also, I love watching college baseball.
“I just think the mental side of the game is so important, not just physically. That’s really important to me and the guys.”
Errors played a part in Batavia squandering a solid pitching performance from Connar Temple. He allowed five runs in six innings, but only two were earned. The Bulldogs committed four errors.
“Until we stop give away outs to good teams, that result is going to happen,” Batavia coach Alex Beckmann said. “I think we’re right there.”
On the flip side, Genke had a handful of solid leaders among the few returnees he did welcome back, namely Reinke and Mason Netcel.
The door was wide open for more guys to step up, and Macholz has done so in a big way.
“Our guys just rally around him,” Genke said. “He shares his voice. He’s demonstrating leadership as a junior. When you lose guys like Mike Buono and Jackson Spring, you kind of look around like, ‘Who’s the next guy? Who’s going to be the guy that’s going to come up and be a leader?’
“Keto and Mason obviously are, but Nolan is right in there too.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
