St. Rita junior Ryan Jones takes pride in being able to play all over the field defensively.
He grew up playing up the middle in the infield, has seen action at third base and pitches, too.
But heading into his junior season, he was approached about adding even more positional versatility to his repertoire. The coaching staff wanted him to give first a try.
Jones was up for the challenge.
He finished with two hits, two RBIs and a run as St. Rita rolled to a 15-0 victory in four innings over Oak Lawn on April 15 at St. Xavier University.
“First has been a new position. I’m loving it,” Jones said. “It’s been fun. I like picking the ball. I got some work in there over the offseason and in the outfield too. It’s learning new positions and trying to be as versatile as possible.”
Juniors Danny Corona (two runs, RBI), Jayden Hawkins (two hits, two runs, two RBIs, two stolen bases) and Timmy Swanson (solo home run, three RBIs, two runs) and senior Luke Arteaga (two runs) led a balanced St. Rita attack.
Juniors Greg Zaber and Jayden Ibarra and senior Nick Cegielski combined to throw a four-inning no-hitter.
Jones has been a steady presence all spring for the Mustangs, who were 11-2 through last week.
He got a little taste of the varsity game as a sophomore, and he’s running with the far-bigger opportunity as a junior.
“I knew expectations would be pretty high,” Jones said. “There are some nerves overall, but you’ve got to have your confidence up. You’ve got to live up to the standard and represent what you’re wearing on your jersey.”
A self-professed baseball nerd, he’s a big stats guy, not for individual accolades but helping the team overall.
“On-base (percentage) is my thing. I love to walk and hate to strike out,” Jones said. “The goal is under 10 strikeouts each year and walk more than I strike out. Getting on base, that keeps a lot of guys in the big leagues for a long time.”
And as for that adjustment to first base, he’s having a blast.
“I played a little bit growing up, but as I progressed, it became all middle infield,” Jones said. “It was working on it in the offseason, couple practices in the fall and got some work in.”
Jones is part of a deep junior class that’s grown up together at the lower levels the last two seasons.
Coach John Nee said he was excited to see how those juniors would perform at the varsity level.
“This junior group has known nothing but winning,” Nee said. “Everyone has accepted their roles. We knew these guys coming in would change the feeling from last year.”
St. Rita went 17-21 last season, but won a Class 3A regional.
Senior catcher Colin Quinn, a Heartland Community College recruit, likes the vibes so far this spring.
“Guys are playing really well,” Quinn said. “Everything’s clicking. Everyone’s getting along, showing up, having fun and competing. We have a lot of guys stepping up which is big. You like to see a lot of guys contribute.”