Confident Lisle keeps rolling

Lisle starting pitcher Jon Kolosky wasn't too worried that the wind was blowing straight out for Tuesday's Interstate Eight Conference baseball game against Westmont.

When you're feeling as confident as Kolosky and the Lions are, not much bothers you.

That explains why the Lions handled every chance flawlessly despite fighting that stiff wind and a bright sun in the field during a 15-2 victory in Lisle.

"I was a little worried, but I had control of my pitches," Kolosky said. "Nobody was hitting me."

Kolosky gave up just 4 hits and 2 runs in a five-inning complete game. Only in the third inning did he struggle a little, and then only after two outs.

"Jon did a great job on the mound," said Lisle coach Pete Meyer, whose team entered the game tied for first place in the IEC. "He located three pitches (fastball, changeup and curveball). That's what we ask him to do all the time, and he was able to do that. And we played pretty good defense behind him."

The Lions (18-7, 8-3) didn't have much trouble with the playing conditions. But then again, they're used to it.

"We've played in it enough lately," Meyer said of the wind and sun. "Unbelieveable. It just keeps going and going and going. But we've worked on it a lot. The kids did a great job getting behind the ball."

"We practice in this wind all the time because there's not many trees out here to block the wind," Kolosky added. "We get used to it."

Westmont, on the other hand, struggled with the conditions right from the start. The wind seemed to play tricks with every ball Lisle put into play in the first inning, even blowing a foul popup down the first-base line fair for a Nick Thome single.

The Lions scored 3 runs in the first inning.

"We've hit a high with our bats," said junior left fielder Will DeCraene, who went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. "We're all swinging well all the way through the lineup."

Kolosky helped himself at the plate also, adding a first-inning triple and a fourth-inning double. He went 2-for-3 with 4 RBI.

"I haven't been hitting that good this year," Kolosky said, "but I felt confident at the plate."

He's not the only Lion enjoying the season.

"We're getting there. We've found it all," DeCraene said. "Our attitude in the dugout, on the field, before the game, after the game is perfect right now. We're doing what we're supposed to be doing."

The Lions scored 2 runs in the second inning, 4 in the third and 6 in the fourth, many of them unearned as the struggling Sentinels (8-14, 5-7) totaled 7 errors.