Bolingbrook downs Joliet Central as first year under Craig Dixon continues

JOLIET – It’s a new era for the Bolingbrook baseball team as new coach Craig Dixon is overseeing the program now. He brings more than two decades of coaching experience, although this is his first year as a high school head coach.

The results have been up and down early. The Raiders opened the season with three straight losses, but they’re 3-1-1 since then after beating Joliet Central 6-2 on Thursday.

It’s still early in the season, but Dixon hopes to continuing building the culture at Bolingbrook and guide the team to its first winning season since 2017.

“We’re trying to rebuild the culture here,” Dixon said. “We’re trying to have them talk the right way and have the right approach to pitches. I’ve got 20-plus years of coaching travel ball, and what the greats have taught me I’m trying to teach to them. ... Hunt your pitch, quality at-bats, every day is opening day. It’s been fun, but we still have a long way to go.”

As for Thursday’s game, it was the pitching and defense that stood out. Pharrell Weekley got the start on the mound and gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out eight. Both of the Steelmen’s runs were unearned off an error in the final inning. Weekley also had an outstanding day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs and scoring a run. Weekley has been a standout for the Raiders this season, having gone 10 for 18 at the plate with seven RBIs and two home runs.

“I was just staying true,” Weekley said. “I was staying with what we’ve practiced. On days like this, that’s all you can do.”

“Days like this” being a temperature of about 40 with 18 mph wind gusts. That didn’t stop TJ Marshall from going 2 for 3 with an RBI. Nor did it stop the Raiders from taking advantage of four errors by the Steelmen.

“Pharrell was on the mound today and he pitched really well,” Dixon said. “He’s a good kid. He asked for the ball two days ago, and I said yes. ... [Pharrell] plus our bats coming alive was huge. We need that these next couple of games.”

Weekley credited his teammates for helping make the game easier for him, but he also credited Dixon for the work he’s done in the dugout and at practice for the Raiders.

“I think he’s doing a great job coaching,” Weekley said. “I think the whole team is working on discipline, which really holds us together. We just have to keep trusting ourselves and not getting in our heads.”

As for the Steelmen (4-8), it was the fifth consecutive loss after a 4-3 start to the year. The bats never got going, putting up just one hit before the final inning with their seventh-inning runs coming on an error and a sacrifice fly. Their shaky defense negated some solid work on the mound from Daniel Quiros (one walk, six strikeouts in four innings) and Andrew Nixon (one hit, six strikeouts in three).

“The lucky part about this is we get to bounce back tomorrow in practice and Saturday against Shepard,” coach Miguel Silva said. “We just have to keep growing. There’s room to improve every day and build from each thing this week.”

Dixon said that although Thursday’s effort was pleasing, the Raiders will need to keep doing what’s working for them.

“The team needs to keep communicating, and we need to keep having good pitching,” Dixon said. “One of my goals this year was to not get anyone injured. We’ve worked hard to get our pitch counts where they’re at, and that’s a big key to why we won this game today.”