Perhaps Grant’s Ryne Dzierzynski was destined for success in baseball.
Dzierzynski, who is beginning to establish an identity in the sport that his father, Scott, loves so much, was named after Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg.
“My dad is a huge baseball fan, and he pretty much lives and breathes it,” Dzierzynski said. “He’s a lifelong Cubs fan, and it led to me having a unique spelling for my name. The reference is definitely there.”
Dzierzynski never saw Sandberg play in person, but his bedroom is adorned with various Sandberg items, including a photo of a newborn Dzierzynski combined with a photo of Sandberg giving his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech in 2005.
Dzierzynski said he took advantage of his name when he acquired an autographed Sandberg trading card at a sports memorabilia convention in Rosemont a few years ago.
“I told one of the vendors that I was named for Ryne Sandberg, and he gave me 50% off the card,” Dzierzynski said. “I told him I needed that card.”
Dzierzynski may not be getting a hit 50% of the time, but he’s not far from it. Through Wednesday, the senior shortstop/pitcher was batting .458 with a 1.349 OPS, three home runs, 20 RBIs and five stolen bases for the Bulldogs (12-7, 5-3), who were tired for third place in the Northern Lake County Conference. He had walked twice as often as he had struck out.
“The big thing with hitting is that if you have a bad day, you have to forget about it,” he said. “That’s something that’s helped me a lot. Baseball is an easy game to dwell on, and at some point you’ll have a bad at-bat or a bad swing. I try to preach that to younger players. You’ve got to let it go.”
That mentality serves Dzierzynski well on the mound too. A successful closer in the past, the Wisconsin-Parkside commit has become one of Grant’s starting pitchers this season.
“I came into our regional final game last year really early and pitched 5 2/3 innings, and for some reason I did really well,” he said. “After that, the coaches came to me and said they thought starting would be best for the team.”
Dzierzynski had minor elbow surgery only weeks before the start of the 2024 season, but he bounced back quickly and pitched effectively out of the bullpen. As a starter this season, he’s 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings. Most remarkable, though, is his 36-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
“He has the biggest role on our team, and he knew about it going into the year and has handled it great,” Grant coach Bryan Talbot said. “We needed him competing for us at least once a week, and he’s pitched in some important games already. You can’t tell what the score is when he’s playing because he projects himself the exact same way on every play.”
Dzierzynski’s numbers might not indicate it, but he had to adjust to being a starting pitcher.
“My first start, I had no idea even how to warm up or what time frame to use, so it’s definitely different from relieving,” he said. “You have seven innings to worry about, and you have to have a plan after you go through the lineup once.
“But it’s fun going out there and battling every inning. I love that you get to control the game. It’s my pace, my tempo. Win or lose, it’s on me.”
It’s not the first time Dzierzynski has had to adjust during his four years in the program. He was promoted to the varsity team during his freshman season before becoming the starting shortstop a year later.
“I had no clue about what high school baseball was like compared to travel ball, which is more of a personal showcase,” he said. “That first year was definitely an adapting year. But playing there so young allowed me to project that onto my buddies so that they wouldn’t be shell-shocked and they could cope with their first times on varsity.”
Dzierzynski continues to be a leader for the Bulldogs. On Wednesday, he started on the mound and didn’t allow an earned run in six innings, leaving with a 9-3 lead. Conference rival Wauconda responded with a seven-run seventh inning, but Dzierzynski rallied his teammates, and Grant won 11-10 in extra innings.
“The whole team had its head down low, but he told us to stick together and that we still had a chance for a walk-off,” Grant senior third baseman Christian Faria said.
“That’s what separates him from others. He’s obviously our best player, but if I’m being honest, he’s not just a great ballplayer. He’s also a great role model and teammate.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
