Rally Delivers Win No. 300 In Consiglio's Coaching Career

Evanston IL

14 May, 2022

9:58 PM

Description

The drive home hasn't been quite the same for Evanston head baseball coach Frank Consiglio since his father --- Frank Sr. --- passed away two weeks ago. But with that notable exception, the consistency still remains. The consistent teaching of the game's fundamentals that has led to consistent winning since Consiglio came to ETHS back in 2007 continued on Saturday as the Evanston mentor earned the 300th victory of his coaching career. Already the second winningest coach in school program history, behind only Hall of Famer Ken McGonagle, Consiglio reached another milestone when the Wildkits rallied for an 11-9 victory over visiting Deerfield. A 9-run rally in the bottom of the 6th inning pushed the Kits to 17-6 on the current season. Consiglio has guided the Wildkits to a 300-192 won-loss record during his tenure and players and parents staged a celebration after the contest to honor the coach. But the ride home? It just wasn't the same without the elder Consiglio on the other end of the phone. "My Dad is somebody I talked to at least every other day, and since I was a young coach, I got into the habit of talking to him on the phone on the drive home," Consiglio recalled. "The first thing he'd ask, did you win or lose? Then we'd talk about who did well. The biggest adjustment for me now is that as soon as I get in the car, that's what I'm thinking about. "My Dad knew about the 300th win coming this season. It hits me hard right now, not to be able to make that phone call." The late Frank Consiglio was part of a support system that made another milestone possible, according to his son. "This is really a team win. It's a huge accomplishment," said the ETHS coach. "I'm married to the ultimate coach's wife, and I get such great support from her at home. And all of the coaches who have been with me over the years have always been there to help me figure out things. "On the field, I'm really proud of the consistency we've shown over the years. When I was a young coach I was obsessed with getting to a spot where we were competing for conference and regional titles, and maybe to win a sectional. "We have that piece now (2 CSL South division championships, 5 Illinois High School Association regional championships, and 2 sectional championships) and that makes it a lot of fun. And now it's just as much about the families and the players and seeing them grow outside of the game, too." As Evanston's success has grown as a program, Consiglio's embrace of his role as a teacher has grown as well. The fundamentals of the game are always uppermost in his mind and he doesn't stop teaching no matter what the scoreboard says. "My favorite thing in baseball is when you start a season with a team, trying to get them from Point A to Point B," he said. "You take a team that isn't ready yet and in 2 and a half or 3 months, you get them prepared for that playoff moment." Win No. 300 has been on hold as the Wildkits hit a bump in the road this past week, the first real adversity that a talented but inexperienced squad has faced. Evanston faced a grueling schedule with 9 straight league games because of rainouts that played havoc with the original schedule, and the Kits only mustered a 3-3 record over the last 6 games and suffered shutout defeats in 3 of those games. Consiglio watched his squad fall behind Deerfield 7-1 in the 6th inning on Saturday and wasn't counting on this one as a W. But a bases-loaded triple by sophomore Eron Vega and a 2-run single by Alex Vasquez put the milestone within reach and senior Owen Brooks applied the finishing touches on the mound for a beleaguered pitching staff at the end of a week where it seemed everyone on the roster took a turn. "We've been pressing at the plate and we've out-hit some of the teams we lost to," Consiglio pointed out. "We took a step back defensively, and no team has enough pitching with this many games (counting next week, it will add up to 13 games in 15 days). But every good team has its highs and lows during a season. "Hopefully, they've learned the lessons they needed to learn over this past week." But whether they have or not, he'll keep teaching.