Naperville Central junior second baseman Ryley Orlanes isn’t one to overstate his accomplishments.
In fact, the opposite is true.
“At the beginning of the season, I was having trouble maintaining my spot on the team,” Orlanes said. “I was struggling mentally and physically on the field, so every single day at home, I would just go out and practice, put 100% into baseball so I could finally get my spot.
“As you can see, it’s been working.”
Indeed, Orlanes made his playoff debut a memorable one. The varsity rookie went 3-for-3 with a single, a double, a triple, two runs scored and two stolen bases as the second-seeded Redhawks blanked 18th-seeded Bolingbrook 8-0 in a Class 4A Naperville Central Regional semifinal on Wednesday.
“That’s a heck of a stat line,” Naperville Central senior shortstop Cooper Page said. “He had a great day.”
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, who doubled and scored on Michael Page’s single during a three-run first inning, said it wasn’t the first time Orlanes has played well this season.“He’s been awesome for us the whole year,” Cooper Page said. “He’s been hitting the whole year. He’s really working on his fielding a lot more lately, so that’s good.”
Orlanes entered the game batting .410 for the Redhawks (26-9), who will play eighth-seeded West Aurora or 10th-seeded Naperville North in the regional championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday. So why the discrepancy between Orlanes’ self-assessment and that of everyone else?
“When Ryley says he’s not playing well, that’s not true,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said. “He’s the hardest on himself.
“The fact that he made an error at second base, he’ll think he had a terrible game today because he made the one error. The thing is he thinks that, but when he goes and plays, he forgets it.”
Orlanes never forgets to put in the work. He doubled down on that approach earlier this season.
“I built a routine at home, and I kind of stuck through it for about a month, and that’s when I started seeing results,” he said. “I’m still seeing it today.”
Orlanes’ routine included hitting into a net in the garage.
“I would stay in my garage,” he said. “Even if I had homework that night, I would push the homework back and focus more on baseball — my swing, my mechanics — and I would go outside and work on my fielding.
“I’d say it was midseason when it really started to click.”
It certainly clicked against the Raiders (5-21), who failed to get Orlanes out. He singled and scored in the first inning and hit an RBI triple and scored in the second as the Redhawks built an early 6-0 lead for senior pitcher Grant Umbright (7-1), who combined with senior relievers Bennett DeSantis and Ryan Gervase on a one-hit shutout.
Stock said it was one of Orlanes’ best games.
“You kind of see what he does every game, not necessarily all three things,” Stock said. “He sprays the ball. He’ll roll over some and beat it out and takes the extra base. He puts pressure on guys.”
That pressure never stops. After getting hit in the back by a pitch his third time up, Orlanes legged out a leadoff double in his last at-bat.
Orleans left the game at that point after grazing his chin on a headfirst slide. That and a harmless fifth-inning error were the only blemishes on his masterpiece.
“Honestly, that made me feel like I’m contributing more to the team because I’ve been, I wouldn’t say in a slump, but I’d say I’ve been averaging one hit per game,” Orlanes said. “Breaking out, going 3-for-3, really helps the team.”
It also motivates Orlanes to achieve something his older brother, Roan, didn’t do in his two varsity seasons — help the Redhawks win their first regional title since 2015.
“I really wanted to be in this spot,” Orlanes said. “It’s just really big for me because I was on JV sophomore year, so it’s my first year on varsity.
“I watched my brother play baseball at Central. I know they didn’t really make it as far as we did, but that’s what keeps us pushing.”
Stock is eager to see how far Orlanes can go.
“He’s fun to watch,” Stock said. “We’re so excited for him.”
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Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.