Addison Trail gets bats cranked up
The Addison Trail baseball team’s hitting game took an unintended day off Tuesday with just three hits in a 9-0 loss at Downers Grove South.
Two days later it was back in full swing as the Blazers cranked out eight hits, including two triples that produced three runs, in a 7-3 West Suburban Conference crossover game over host Glenbard West.
“We only had three hits against Downers Grove South, so the boys went to work today with a better approach,” said Addison Trail coach Steve Gilliam. “We’ve been swinging the bat well. I’m excited about our hitting.”
Greg Schultz and Anthony Catanese swung the big bats Tuesday for Addison Trail (14-8). Schultz finished with 3 RBI, including a two-run triple during the four-run fifth that made it a 5-2 game. His groundout in the seventh also produced a run.
Catanese connected on an RBI single in the fifth and blasted a run-scoring triple to right during the final inning.
“We work a lot on hitting with Coach Gilliam and he stresses to transfer what we do in the cage over to the game,” he said.
Catanese said that days like Tuesday against Downers Grove South don’t linger long and can easily be rectified like the Blazers did Thursday.
“That’s baseball. You are always going to have tough days. Luckily, you play more than one game a week,” he said.
Other hitting highlights for the victors were Trevor Bermingham’s double to left center in the second. That moved Anthony Kalbas to third after he had reached base on a single to center. Kalbas later scored on a fielder’s choice.
Mike Cacciopo singled in the fifth and was brought home on Catanese’s basehit. Scott Babica scored twice.
Brad Schonder started the game for the Blazers but pitched just two innings. The winning pitcher was Anthony Infantino, who came on in relief for four innings. Bermingham came on to finish up in the seventh.
Gilliam said that with Addison Trail’s Thursday games this season being nonconference, he uses it as an opportunity to get his pitching staff needed work.
The Hilltoppers (13-11) scored twice in the third inning. Daniel Setzke reached base on a fielding error and scored on another error. Myles Purdom reached on an infield hit bunt and scored on a wild pitch.
In the fifth Setzke was hit by a pitch and scored on Ryan Kavanaugh’s single to center.
Tyler Curtis doubled in the sixth and the Hilltoppers loaded the bases in the seventh with the help of basehits from Purdom and Kavanaugh, but to no avail.
Glenbard West coach Brian Wojtun said it was a case of too little, too late.
“I’m disappointed with the way we played today. We didn’t play Hilltopper baseball,” he said. “We were not there until the sixth and seventh innings, and if we want to succeed against high-level competition, we have to perform the whole game.”