And the winner is . . . Antioch
The baseball trivia questions came from Vernon Hills’ PA announcer after third outs, easier to field than Sunday Hops.
Which legendary, scratchy-voiced announcer used to say, “Holy Cow!”? Which former White Sox player was known as “The Big Hurt”? From which movie came the line, “There’s no crying in baseball”? Which pitcher was called “The Big Unit”?
“You need a new book,” the friendly home-plate umpire yelled up to the press box. “I’m 4-for-4.”
“I wasn’t even paying attention,” Antioch pitcher Bob Pranke said with a laugh. “I was just focusing on getting guys out.”
Pranke had the only answers he needed.
He battled through 5-plus innings to earn the win, helping visiting Antioch triumph 10-4 Wednesday, a day after the Sequoits walked nine batters, hit six and allowed 16 runs in a North Suburban Prairie Division-opening loss to Vernon Hills.
“Better at-bats (Tuesday),” coach Jay Czarnecki said of his Cougars, who fell to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the NSC Prairie. “It was kind of a flip of offensive fortune. (Tuesday) we were the one that was always in the plus count. For whatever reason, close calls on pitches were going our way. We had a lot of walks. We had a lot of hit batters. So every time we got a hit, it seemed like we were scoring runs because of it. Guys were comfortable in the box.
“Today, it wasn’t like that. For (Antioch), it was. Their hitters did a nice job.”
Antioch (5-2, 1-1) pounded out 15 hits against four pitchers, knocking out lefty starter M.J. Crowley with two on and none out in the fourth. Sequoits senior outfielder Brett Prather had what he called his best day at the plate this season, going 4-or-4 with an RBI double and run-scoring single.
Paul DeJong went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI, Ryan Dragoon was 2-for-4 with an RBI single, and Joe Gregory ripped a run-scoring double and walked twice. Sequoits sophomore Mitch Everett was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI. All nine Sequoits in the batting order had at least one hit.
“All of us seniors talked and said we have to take it more seriously,” said Prather, a three-year varsity baseball player who will play wide receiver for Division I-AA Butler University. “It felt good to come back and beat them.”
Pranke (2-0) got out of the fifth unscathed after his second and third walks of the inning loaded the bases. He got outs when he needed them most, stranding at least one runner in each of his 5 innings.
“That’s what our coach tells us to do,” Pranke said. “When things aren’t going your way, just bear down and get outs.”
Despite walking six and hitting a batter, Pranke allowed only 2 hits through five. Only one of the 2 runs he allowed was earned.
Antioch coach Paul Petty lifted the senior right-hander after Vernon Hills started the bottom of the sixth with consecutive singles by Steve Nelson, Crowley (2-for-4) and Chris Argianas (2 RBI).
“That’s kind of what you get from him,” Petty said of Pranke. “Pretty good baseball, pretty good baseball, good baseball, then walk, walk, plunk. Then it’s, ‘the whole thing can fall apart,’ or he comes right back out and it’s lights out.”
Side-arming righty Greg Licht got Pranke out of two-on, none-out jam in the sixth, before surrendering a pair of runs in the seventh.
Brian Palmer led off the Vernon Hills seventh with his second double and scored on Ryan Lane’s RBI single. The Cougars’ first four hitters reached safely, but their deficit was too much to overcome.
Vernon Hills stranded 13 runners.
“Complete turnaround from (Tuesday),” Pranke said.