Solorio senior Juan Barrientos has been playing baseball since he was 3 and is heading off to continue his career in college next season.
It’s unlikely he’s ever been involved in — or ever will be involved — in a game like the one the Sun Warriors played on March 24.
Solorio endured a nightmarish bottom of the first against Tinley Park, falling behind by 13 runs. But the Sun Warriors kept plugging away and had the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the seventh before Tinley closed out a 14-13 win.
Barrientos, a four-year starting catcher and the team’s emotional leader, made sure the Sun Warriors didn’t mail it in after the ugly start.
“Basically I told my team, just get out of each other’s heads and start focusing on baseball,” Barrientos said. “At least represent our school correctly, play for our school.
“And then we started getting base hits. … Playing for my brothers actually kind of made me pick up the team, pick up the energy and stuff.”
Barrientos went 3-for-3 with an RBI, re-entering the game to deliver an RBI single in the seventh. Solorio coach Scott Whitcomb had subbed in freshman catcher Daniel Santiago to give him some experience, but went back to Barrientos when the Sun Warriors had scrambled back into contention.
“I think he’s really embracing that (leadership) role and it means a lot to him,” Whitcomb said of Barrientos. “Baseball skill-wise coming in is why he played as a freshman. He was able to compete right away for us.”
Barrientos followed in the footsteps of his older brother Martin, who played at St. Xavier and now is coaching at Lane.
He’s signed with Division II Roosevelt, which plays at Ozinga Field in Crestwood.
“I visited the (downtown) campus, I loved it,” Barrientos said. “The skyline, everything. It’s here in Chicago, my parents can come and watch me play. And they have a really good catching coach. I trust the catching coach over there to develop me.”
Before he moves on, though, Barrientos is looking for a big season for the Sun Warriors, who play in the Public League’s top-tier Jackie Robinson South. They aim to make a big step forward after losing just one key player from last year’s 8-18 team.
Other key contributors against Tinley Park included junior shortstop Keiber Hernandez, who was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs against Tinley Park; sophomore DH Jaydiel Salgado (3-for-3, double, two runs) and sophomore first baseman Uriel Olivares (2-for-5, run, two RBIs).
“We were just a bit short, but great fight,” Whitcomb said. “They didn’t give up at-bats. Just piece by piece, at-bat by at-bat, pass it to the next guy. And so they started to believe a little bit, which is great.”