Baseball:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Along with a solid start (6-2) to the 2020 baseball season for the South Hills program, the Huskies also featured a pair of senior right handers that looked to be one of the better 1-2 punches in the San Gabriel Valley.

Ryan Wentz (3-0) and Ray Northey (2-1) combined to win five of the six victories on the hill for South Hills and when COVID-19 ended their senior campaign, Wentz and Northey were on a combined five-game win streak.

The good news is that both will continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Ryan Wentz is a perfect example of what can happen when you work your tail off, both on the physical and mental aspects of the game.

This might sound harsh, but Ryan himself said he was irrelevant last year for the Huskies.

He threw just three innings all year, and went 0-0, with a 9.33 ERA.

He walked six, struck out four and said he felt like he could only trust his fastball.

Wentz even struggled against teams like Diamond Ranch, who went 2-28 in 2019.

But Ryan’s story gets special and here’s how he was able to make a complete 180 in his baseball career.

Wentz spent his entire offseason playing baseball for the West Covina Dukes, and it would be safe to say the turning point in his career was in a tournament in Peoria, Arizona.

A suggestion by a coach was made to get some rubber bands before coming to the park and after each ball that he threw, he was to sort of pull the rubber band back and fire away at his wrist.

As barbaric as it may sound, Wentz benefited greatly, and admitted in his final start at the tournament that it was his first good outing in a long, long time, so he headed back to Southern California to get ready for the season.

Along with his discipline and stronger mental focus, Wentz also spent a lot of time mastering a slider that he is more than confident to throw in any count.

Wentz credits new pitching coach Daniel Sandello in his ascension as a pitcher.

He said Sandello spends a great deal of time working with the Huskies staff on both the psychological and mechanics of their game.

Ryan also spent time rocking up his body and entered the season at 6-foot-3, and 210 pounds of muscle.

Wentz would go 3-0 this season, including victories over Alta Loma, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, Aliso Niguel and he got a save in a 3-1 win over Arcadia on February 26.

He was just one win shy of Arcadia’s Justin Rios (4-0) for most victories in the SGV area.

Wentz had a 1.58 ERA and struck out 18 batters in 13 1/3 innings of work.

“The amount of work I put in was not going to let me fail,” Wentz said. “When I came into my senior year, I had a controlled confidence and I felt my results would prove that out. I was able to be more calm and added some pitches and velocity from my junior to senior season.”

Wentz is a bright guy, and will finish his time at South Hills with a 3.7 grade-point average.

His brother Kegan, a 2019 South Hills grad, plays at Mt. Sac for John Knott.

His parents, Dianne and Jim Wentz, have been “fundamental to my success,” he said. “My dad didn’t sugarcoat things. He showed me about determination and work ethic. My mom was a softball player and she will also tell me things I need to hear and took care of everything for me. Even when I was young, my mom would find a pitching coach for me and take me there. I am very appreciative of the love, support and sacrifices that both of my parents have made in my life.”

His fellow pitcher, Ray Northey, said what he respects most about Wentz is, “Ryan is a leader and he’s all about helping his teammates. He worked really hard, studied and became mentally tough and that has made all the difference in the world in his game.”

When asked what he hopes his younger teammates will remember about him, and what he appreciates about the coaching staff, Wentz said, “I just hope they understand that hard work really does pay off. I also wanted to be the best teammate I could be. I appreciate very much how much the coaches care about us in every phase of our lives.”

Wentz will get to continue his collegiate career next year at Cal State Northridge and with his size, new-found confidence, mental toughness and the working into the mix a couple more pitches, it looks like his career is very promising.

Ray Northey came into the 2020 season after an abbreviated 2019 campaign.

In 2019, Northey was 2-1, with a 1.37 ERA.

He walked six and fanned 15 batters in 15 2/3 innings.

But during a 2019 Hacienda League start against West Covina, Northey got an uncomfortable feeling in his right elbow and his season was over.

It didn’t need surgery, but he had to refrain from throwing a baseball for quite some time.

Over the summer of 2019, Northey competed for the Sports Academy Dukes out of El Monte.

His first start for the Dukes was more than 10 weeks after leaving the West Covina game, and while it wasn’t pain-free, Northey went in for check ups and eventually was able to throw without any discomfort.

“I had some anxiety, but over the summer I was able to sharpen up and changed the grip on my curveball and I think it helped the way I was able to start my senior year,” Northey said.

After dropping his season opener to California, Northey would go on to pick up victories over Arcadia and then at Tesoro in South Orange County.

When the Coronavirus brought the world to its knees, Ray Northey was 2-1, with a 1.37 ERA.

He walked six and struck out 16 in his 15 1/3 innings of work.

Northey is successful for a number of reasons, including his high baseball IQ.

While he struck out 31 batters in 31 innings pitched over the last two years, he doesn’t go in expecting or trying to overpower hitters, instead, he’s all about hitting spots, mixing his pitches and allowing his defense to make plays behind him.

Another reason his teammates love him, is because he’s humble with zero ego.

“I don’t care about labels like ‘ace’ or go out there and try and blow someone away,” Northey said. “I just accepted whatever my role was and I wanted to go out and give my team the best chance at winning every time I’m on the mound. We had such great chemistry this season, and we all gave of ourselves for each other.”

Ryan Wentz said the entire South Hills baseball team believed in Northey.

“We just knew when it was Ray’s turn to go out on the mound, it was going to be a good outing. He always found a way to just go out there and get the job done, and we respected and appreciated that about him.”.

Just as Wentz has, Northey has two solid parents, in Ray and Christina Northey.

“My dad works a lot and is there at games when he can. I learned a lot about work ethic from my dad and the sacrifices he makes to provide for his wife and four kids. My mom drives me everywhere and she’s my biggest fan. They both tell me what I need to hear. My mom puts all our needs before her own and we all love and appreciate her for that.”

During the quarantine, Northey spends time with his girlfriend, Maddy, as well as watching a number of shows on YouTube.

Recently, Northey got the good news that he will be playing college baseball.

He accepted an offer to compete for Cal State University San Marcos in 2021.

It’s a Division 2 program near San Diego.

Just like Wentz, Northey misses his boys a lot and feels the 2020 season had limitless possibilities.

“We worked so hard and everyone knew and accepted their roles,” he said. “I’ll remember the good times and the success we had together. I also appreciate all the coaches did to help better our lives. They truly do care about us and want the best for us.”

The 2020 Huskies have a lot to be proud of and seniors Ryan Wentz, Ray Northey and Tommy Castillo deserve a lot of credit for that success as well as their leadership and production.

Quotable:

South Hills coach Darren Murphy on Ryan Wentz: “No kid has improved from their junior year to the next like Ryan has for me. It was a combination of things that led to this, but mostly it comes from a kid really maturing mentally with how pitching is done and when a physically gifted athlete body wise ( 6’4 210 ) and his brain start to work together. Ryan always had ability, but he was so damn big it was hard for him to get everything to work together as one. He has the biggest hands you’ll see on a high school kid, so even the comfort of the ball in his hand and different pitches had to be worked over and over for muscle memory. He sits at 89-91 with a wicked curveball/slider that is a college out pitch already. It’s just different for kids like him that most of us, not built like him, wouldn’t understand. The thing that separates Ryan, though, is he’s a true student of the game. He wants to see the Ipad after he’s done and see what he can do better next time out and this is right after he’s done for the day on the mound. That’s not normal for high school kids. He will be something special in a few years is my thought at CSUN.”

South Hills coach Darren Murphy on Ray Northey: “This kid gives me great appreciation for what I do. His road hasn’t been the stud route from day one. He came in as a pretty good shortstop, so we thought as a freshman, but he had more interest in pitching and became a pitcher only. He was competitive and pretty good through his sophomore year, but than was injured a lot of junior year, so it wasn’t a spectacular career through three seasons at South Hills, but something changed. For the really good ones, the light goes on between their freshman and sophomore year in the summer on what do they really want from this sport. For others, it could be sophomore year to junior summer, but rarely does it happen junior summer to senior summer. I mean they can have a nice senior year, but that train has usually passed in terms of getting a scholarship. Ray started reaching out to former South Hills CIF Player of The Year, and Max Preps All-American, Brandon Dieter, about the pitching mentality you need on the mound. That was the first step he took in becoming serious. He had a great summer and fall leading into senior year, but we couldn’t get a four-year university to bite just yet. Great news last week came that Cal State San Marcos has offered and he’s accepted, so he will get that opportunity he was working so hard for. Ray is a complete pitcher. He’s got three pitches that he can throw for strikes at any count and I’d say his change up is his best pitch.”

South Hills senior center fielder, Tommy Castillo, on Wentz & Castillo: “Playing with Ryan Wentz was fun. Having a guy who can throw between 88-92 miles-per-hour, with a filthy slider was just amazing to watch. He was a great competitor and I enjoyed having his back in center field. Ray always performed well, especially when we needed him to. He might not throw as hard, but he had very good location control and command of all his pitches. He just went out, threw strikes and allowed his defense to make plays behind him. I will miss playing with both of them, but I’m excited that their careers will continue in college. They were both off to really good starts. Those are my boys.”

Career Stats for Ryan Wentz & Ray Northey:

2020:

Ryan Wentz: 3-0, with a 1.58 ERA, 13 1/3 innings, 10 walks, 18 strikeouts

Ray Northey: 2-1, with a 1.37 ERA, 15 1/3 innings, 6 walks, 15 strikeouts

2019:

Northey: 2-2, 3.57 ERA, 7 walks, 16 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings

Wentz: 0-0, 9.33 ERA, six walks, four strikeouts in three innings

South Hills Records w/Northey and Wentz:

2020: 6-2

2019: 18-9, 12-3 (Hacienda League champions)

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