EDWARDSVILLE — One of the pitchers on Edwardsville High School’s summer baseball team has a familiar name, but he’s sure to put his own mark on the Tigers in the years ahead.
Jonathan Yancik, the younger brother of Andrew Yancik, a key player in Edwardsville’s run to the IHSA Class 4A final earlier this month, pitched an excellent game in the Tigers’ 4-3 loss to the Southside Prospects Saturday afternoon. The game was part of Edwardsville's contests in the Mid-American Super Sixteen tournament at Edwardsville’s JV field.
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In three innings, Yancik allowed only one hit, one walk and five base runners while striking out two. And the Tigers, as is their custom, fought until the end.
“We played our hearts out,” Yancik said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we expected to, but we played our hearts out today.”
While he was on the mound, Yancik got the key outs that he needed with the help of some good defensive plays.
“I executed some pitches well in the beginning,” Yancik said, “and I got a couple of double play balls, and a couple of ground balls to get me out of some sticky situations.”
That’s the key to Yancik’s success on the mound: Keep the batters off stride and get the ground balls that his defense can convert into outs. It’s a recipe that serves him well.
“I have a running fastball that runs inside on hitters,” Yancik said, “and gets them to hit ground balls, and my defense makes plays and backs me up all the time.
“That’s my type of pitching, ground ball outs,’ Yancik added.
The summer season is more of a fun time, and Yancik enjoys being around his teammates and playing the game.
“The summer season, it’s a great thing.” Yancik said. “It’s a whole lot of fun with these guys. They’re like my brothers, and it’s the greatest thing to do in the summer.”
And at the end of the summer season, when the Tigers take the field for the 2018 regular season next spring, you can expect Jonathan Yancik to be a key member of the Edwardsville team.
