Bakes’ diamond dedication sets HHS tone

HUNTLEY – Huntley juniors brothers Ryan and Brayden Bakes set the tone for the Red Raiders offense of each game.

Ryan Bakes  is lead-off and hits right while Brayden Bakes, a left-handed batter, hits next. Both have come through for a HHS team which is off to a 8-1 start, 3-0 in Fox Valley Conference clashes.

“I feel pretty confident at the plate,” Ryan Bakes said.

The duo has shown some power in their at-bats, as Ryan Bakes poked two home runs in an 8-4 win over Crystal Lake Central April 6 and followed that with a two-RBI hit in a close 7-5 win at McHenry April 9.

Ryan Bake’s second home run against CLC was followed by Brayden Bakes finding the gap with a triple.

Moreover, Brayden Bakes showed that the duo has some speed, too, scoring from third base when a ball popped out of the McHenry catcher’s mitt. “I noticed they weren’t hustling to cover,” Brayden said.

Both Bakes brothers have college in their near future as catcher and outfielder Ryan selected South Carolina to play catcher and Brayden pegged Wichita State as an outfielder and Brayden said he can play any of the outfield positions.

While they played other sports in earlier years, baseball soon became the top priority.

“We have been playing since playing whiffle ball in the back yard,” Brayden Bakes said.

“They started coming to our camps in middle school,” HHS coach Andy Jakubowski said.

While the wins over the Tigers were not especially close, the McHenry contest was back-and-forth. The Red Raiders built up a 7-2 lead. Then the bullpen held off a seventh-inning rally as relief pitcher  Mike Vitellero closed out the win.

“The bullpen has been one of our strengths,” Jakubowski said.

The bullpen also helped in other recent wins, including at the Tigers in a 5-0 win April 4.

“Even though we struggled early on to score runs, I thought we played our most complete game against CLC, offensively, hitting and pitching,” Jakubowski said. “Adam Guazzo commanded the strike zone and we finally got the long ball from Harout Meyer to give us a cushion. Our bullpen, Parker Schuring and Vitellero, did a good job and we were able to add on runs against their bullpen, highlighted by Ryan Bakes’ home run.”

Weather continued to be a challenge for Huntley recently, switching scheduled sites to road games or being canceled.