Jonathan Giedraitis had a great seat from which to watch Benet’s historic run to the Class 3A state championship game last season.
Giedraitis would have done anything not to have a seat at all. He could only watch from the dugout as the Redwings earned their first state trophy. He missed the entire season while he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
“That was a tough one,” Giedraitis said. “It definitely has motivated me a lot because sitting there on the bench obviously sucks. The motivation to get back to state is really good for me and the team.”
The Redwings (16-11) are competing in Class 4A this season but have Giedraitis back on the mound. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior is healthy after a grueling rehab following the October 2024 surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
“It’s tough — mentally tough and physically tough,” Giedraitis said. “It’s a 15- to 18-month-long recovery, and even once you return there’s just a huge, arduous process.”
The process included pain, patience and positivity for Giedraitis. After sitting out his high school and summer travel seasons, he finally returned to action in March.
“There is definitely a part where you think, ‘Oh, my gosh, what if it happens again?’” he said. “You just have to trust that the doctor did a good job and it doesn’t happen again.”
So far, so good for Giedraitis, whose arm feels fine, and the Augustana College commit is ready for the playoffs, which begin next week. Benet, which is seeded sixth in the Lockport Sectional, hosts a regional and will play 12th-seeded Downers Grove South in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. May 28.
“It was kind of a build-up process to try to get him back on the mound this year,” Benet co-coach Jorge Acosta said. “I’d say in his last three outings, he’s gotten better every single time, so he’s doing a good job for us.”
In Giedraitis’ latest outing, he allowed only three singles, two of which were infield hits, in 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the host Redwings blanked Neuqua Valley 2-0 in Lisle on Saturday.
The Wildcats (9-20) hit just four balls out of the infield.
“That’s the entire goal — throw strikes, get weak contact and let the defense take care of it,” Giedraitis said. “At the beginning of the season, I had some trouble with control and really locating my stuff, but these past few outings I definitely feel like I’ve dialed it in, gotten a lot better.”
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Benet senior catcher Dominik Tomala has seen Giedraitis’ improvement up close.
“His control has definitely improved,” Tomala said. “First time out, he kind of struggled with his tempo. He was throwing hard, but I just feel like you’ve got to get the feel for it, and as we progressed through the season, each week I could see him get more of a feel for his breaking ball, his fastball.
“So he’s looking a lot better, a lot more confident, and overall he’s just dominating people like today.”
Giedraitis is using his brain as well as his brawn to dominate.
“He keeps the ball really low,” Tomala said. “When I’m catching him, I’ve got to keep my glove down because he’s going to throw it there.
“He doesn’t really miss up, and his off-speed really tunnels well because it breaks pretty late. So a lot of times he’ll get hitters really out in front because they’re timing up his fastball and will make really weak contact on his curveball.”
A few colleges were in contact with Giedraitis before his injury. That interest dried up after the surgery, but Augustana was one of the first to show interest during his rehab.
“They reached out to coach Acosta and said, ‘Hey, you have any guys?’” said Giedraitis, who intends to major in kinesiology and become a physical therapist. “Coach Acosta said this guy’s worked really hard in the weight room trying to come back. One day, I got a text from them, and the rest is history.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.