Much like his teammates, Metea Valley’s Jake Kmiecik knew what the Mustangs had coming back.
Last season, Metea finished with 19 wins, so a group that was almost simultaneously elevated to the varsity as sophomores kept their collective feet on the gas pedal.
And now? Metea (23-8) has its sights squarely on the upcoming postseason.
Kmiecik expected every bit of this spring’s success. He expects that to continue Wednesday as the Mustangs open up against Naperville Central in a Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional semifinal.
“I don’t think we’re surprised at all with the success we’ve had,” Kmiecik said. “We knew who we had returning, the guys we had coming up. We knew we could be a dangerous team.
“And it started with the 5 a.m. lifting three or four times a week. We bonded as a team. Once the season started, we rolled right into things. We didn’t have that learning curve many teams did. We just hit the ground running.”
Kmiecik, a senior shortstop, has a .423 batting average and .483 on-base percentage with 37 runs, 17 stolen bases, 13 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 26 RBIs.
He also has pitched 21 2/3 innings, compiling a 4-0 record with three saves and a 1.62 ERA. He has struck out 25 and walked only seven.
“The game is so mental,” Metea coach Craig Tomczak said. “But he never struggles in all three facets. He always helps us somehow. He plays defense or pitches. He’s a huge component, even if he’s struggling at the plate.
“That knowledge, learning it and feeling it, is a huge part of what he’s going to be next season and going forward.”
As far as trying to win a regional, which would be the program’s first since 2012, Metea is not focused on the past. The Mustangs are too busy writing their own chapter.
“We’re not really thinking about the history so much — we were like 11 years old when that happened,” Kmiecik said. “So there’s no pressure on us from that aspect.
“The pressure is what we want out of ourselves. We know if we play our game, we can get that regional, we can get to state. That’s what we’re into.”
When Kmiecik was first elevated to the varsity two years ago, he struggled on defense. Tomczak said Kmiecik made 18-22 errors that season.
Hard work and dedication to tightening his most significant shortcoming has stood out to Tomczak, who noted Kmiecik has just five errors this season while becoming a linchpin defensively up the middle.
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That commitment will serve Kmiecik well next season at Heartland Community College in Normal. He hopes it will be another step in his pursuit of a baseball dream.
“I pride myself on never really being satisfied, on being able to do a little of everything,” Kmiecik said. “Will I play both ways down there? I really don’t know. You never know what can happen.
“So I’m really just working on everything, maintaining my pitching speed, refining my pitches some more. Just improving in every way I can.”
Rich Mayor is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.