Sophomore shortstop Christian Flutman got off to a rocky start in his varsity debut for Chicago Christian. He struck out in his first at-bat and committed a pair of early errors.
But Flutman, who became accustomed to the big stage in the fall as the starting quarterback for the Knights in football, was ready to shake it off.
“There were routine plays that I was shaky on,” Flutman said. “Jitters early, for sure.
“I just had to tell myself, ‘Just stay calm. Don’t worry about it or else it’s going to affect your hitting and it’s going to get worse from there.’”
Flutman made sure things got better Monday.
Batting in the No. 9 spot in the order, he came up with a pair of big hits late, including a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning, as the host Knights topped Bremen 5-2 in their season opener.
Flutman went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs while Rafe Slager finished 2-for-4 with a two-run single and a run for the Knights (1-0), who won in Brandon Hickey’s coaching debut. Matt Stevens threw 5 2/3 strong innings, allowing two runs.
Brothers Armando and Xavier Aguilar each had two hits and an RBI for Bremen (0-2).
Chicago Christian got off to a strong start in its attempt to rebound from an 11-18-1 finish in 2022.
“It was pretty important to all of us, coming off last year,” Slager said. “Getting this first win and getting off to a good start is big.”
Flutman said his football experiences got him ready for varsity baseball — and prepared him to deal with some early adversity.
“It helps with the pressure, by far, having gone through football season,” Flutman said. “At the beginning of the football season, if you would have told me I was going start, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“The first game was against a good team and it was a little bit rough, but the second game came around and I played pretty good. I got some confidence going. It just took a little bit of time.”
Flutman doubled and scored in his second at-bat. Then, with the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, he came up with runners on first and second and two outs, looping a run-scoring single into left field.
“I think it shows you what kind of athlete he is,” Hickey said of Flutman. “He’s ready for that type of adversity. He had a bit of an antsy start, but once he got that first at-bat out of the way, he settled in and saw a few pitches.
“He attacked that first pitch in the second at-bat and then he had a great battle in the third one. We’re excited to see more of that. We have a great class of sophomores, and we’re excited to see how they work.”
Slager followed with a two-run single to make it 5-2.
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Bremen coach Mike Cline gave a game ball to Hickey after his first win.
“We have a young team,” Cline said. “I liked the way we battled. Our pitchers battled and gave us a chance. The story of the game was some good two-out hitting by Chicago Christian, so give them credit. The team that was able to get the clutch hits was going to win.
“I’m happy for their coach. There’s many more wins to come for him.”
Connor Schaafsma pitched the final 1 1/3 innings without allowing a run to earn the victory for the Knights.
Flutman, meanwhile, believes a good tone was set.
“This was a strong start,” Flutman said. “I think we’re going to be a good hitting team. I’m excited.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
