Sophomore pitcher Keaton Reinke is learning about what it takes to be a quality arm on the varsity level. It’s about gaining experience from the highs and the lows, the successes and the struggles.
The right-handed Reinke has gone through a lot of that so far this season for St. Charles North, but he agreed that has helped him navigate choppy waters in finding some smooth sailing.
“I feel like I learned a lot because they showed me how much more I have to be focused on the day and everything I do matters,” Reinke said. “I can’t just go out and think, ‘I’m going to do great.’
“It starts the day before, what I eat, how much sleep I get. That really impacted (Monday).”
Reinke indeed put it all together Monday afternoon, tossing a brilliant 5 2/3 innings for the North Stars in a 10-1 DuKane Conference victory over crosstown rival St. Charles East.
So he’s eligible to pitch later in the week, Reinke was pulled after 75 pitches for St. Charles North (16-3-1, 9-1). He struck out eight, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk.
Jackson Spring went 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs and two steals for the North Stars. Jaden Harmon added a two-run single. Sam Frausto had an RBI double for St. Charles East (9-6, 7-4).
St. Charles North coach Todd Genke pitched professionally, so he knows how the development process works. He was encouraged by the step forward that Reinke took Monday.
Reinke’s ability to throw first-pitch strikes and throw all three in his repertoire for strikes helped him to the signature outing.
“Sometimes, I have to realize he’s only a sophomore,” Genke said. “He’s just got so much moxie and competitiveness in him. He’s had a couple up-and-down outings, partly self-inflicted with walks and hit by pitches.
“(Monday) he was locked in. He’s only going to get better. He’s got great velocity throws three pitches for strikes and kept them off balance.”
In the grand scheme of things, Genke is encouraged Reinke went through those struggles but that he’s also starting to figure out ways to move past them.
“When things aren’t going well, you have to start realizing, ‘OK, I have to do this better, that better,’” Genke said. “I thought his tempo was better (Monday) and his first-pitch strike percentage was very high, which is huge.
“You can manage a game so much better when you’re ahead in the count.”
It was getting ahead in the count frequently that stood out to St. Charles East coach Derek Sutor, who is experiencing his first crosstown series since taking over the program.
“He started ahead of us,” Sutor said of Reinke. “He threw a whole bunch of first-pitch strikes. Any time you fall behind a good, quality pitcher, you just tip your cap. You did a heck of a job kid.”
Reinke confirmed a lot of that improvement comes from his relationship with catcher Michael Buono.
“I love Buono so much,” Reinke said. “I’ve done everything with him, and I’m going to continue to do it with him because it’s obviously helping.
“Being able to know that he knows what pitches are best for me in our relationship is huge.”
Another big factor was the fact the North Stars got off to a quick lead. Sacrifice flies from Colin Ryder and Parker Reinke in the first inning built a 2-0 advantage.
A pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings further increased that edge.
“Obviously, them scoring early helped a lot,” Keaton Reinke said. “These guys can hit the ball like crazy. The fact they can do that early and have my back is great.”
Being able to have that performance against St. Charles East wasn’t lost on Reinke, either.
“They’re a great team,” he said. “Every game we win against them is just better than the last.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
