When John Olejniczak took the mound April 12 at Wrigley Field, everyone was happy to see him — even the opposition.
They all knew what Olejniczak had been through to get to this point.
A three-sport standout for Oak Lawn, he tore his right ACL in the first game of the football season. That put him out of commission for the rest of football and all of basketball — save for a ceremonial appearance to score one basket on the Spartans’ senior night against Reavis.
The Rams and Spartans met again at Wrigley, and Olejniczak made his season debut for baseball. He threw 10 pitches in a perfect inning as the starter and Oak Lawn eventually rallied from a five-run deficit to win 10-7 in a nonconference matchup of South Suburban Red rivals.
The Spartans (7-6) had plenty of heroes, including senior center fielder Jack Dempsey, who was 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and four RBIs; and senior first baseman Aiden Schopper, who was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
Parker Zasada was 3-for-4 with a triple, a run and three RBIs for Reavis (8-5).
But arguably no one had a bigger night than Olejniczak, just by virtue of getting back on the field.
“I shook his hand when he came off the mound, I shook his hand when I went back over there,” Reavis coach Kyle McKinley said. “John Olejniczak is one of my favorite kids I’ve ever coached against. He’s such a respectful kid, such a great kid. And honestly, if I wasn’t the team hitting against him, I’d love to watch him on the mound.”
Olejniczak’s coaches and teammates feel the same way.
“I looked at my (assistant) coaches after the first inning (and) I said, ‘I wasn’t waiting for Wrigley, I was waiting for John,'” Oak Lawn coach Bill Gerny said.
“So happy to have him back. He’s been up on varsity since he was a freshman, I’ve gotten to know him very well. He’s just a great kid and I’m glad that he’s able to have some fun his senior year. I know it’s not what he wanted (with the injury and layoff). But sometimes better things happen.”
Olejniczak can still look forward to playing college baseball at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside. But Dempsey, a friend since they were 4, was glad to have something to celebrate now rather than later.
“Usually UCL, ACLs take about nine months (of recovery),” Dempsey said. “But he worked his butt off, he was able to come back in seven months.”
The lift that provided is hard to overstate.
“He’s been our best pitcher the last two years,” Dempsey said. “… And he was our best hitter last year. I’m not sure what hitting he’ll (be able to) do this year. But just having him on the team and having him out on the field gives us a better chance of winning games.”
And just being on the field is the greatest feeling for Olejniczak after his senior year went sideways.
“Six months ago … I thought I was gonna be out for the whole baseball season,” he said. “No shot of coming back.
“But it means a lot and proves the hard work that I put in at my (physical therapy), grinding every day to get back.”
It’s no coincidence that Olejniczak’s return came in a game that was circled on both teams’ schedules because it was at one of the greatest venues in all of baseball.
“Yeah, once we got to the three-month, four-month timeline, I was set on this game,” Olejniczak said. “Get my first game back, find the groove, get back where I was, have some fun with the guys.”