South Elgin off to good start vs. Buffalo Grove

One inning was all it took for South Elgin to get its baseball season off to a solid start.

The Storm scored 4 times in the first inning and cruised to a 5-0 nonconference win against Buffalo Grove in its season opener Tuesday in South Elgin.

Max Keough and Austin Sayre combined on a 2-hitter while Daniel Asa and Nick Menken drove in runs for South Elgin.

"It was nice to get that 4-run lead at the beginning," said Storm coach Jim Kating. "I was disappointed that we didn't keep adding on. We got a little bit lackadaisical. The first game, we came out with energy for one inning. We've got to make sure that we do that for a total of seven innings."

The Bison (2-5), which got some games under its belt on a Florida trip, hit the ball hard at times but couldn't get much past the South Elgin defense.

Justin Hasek walked 2 and uncorked a couple of wild pitches in the first inning but then settled down the last 4 innings.

"We've got to get over that mental hurdle early in the game, throw strikes, and make their hitters beat us," said Bison coach Jeff Grybash. "Don't let them walk their way onto the bases. But Hasek rebounded well. I think it's just a mental hurdle for him."

Hoping to keep the roll going after a third-place finish at state last year, the Storm wasted no time. Dane Toppel led off the first with a bloop single to right field. Walks to Kyle Hays and Joe Roberson loaded the bases, and Toppel scored on a wild pitch. Asa doubled to deep center, Menken hit a slow roller up the middle to drive in another run, and another wild pitch brought in one more.

South Elgin added a run in the fourth on singles by Jared Kramer and Hays and another wild pitch.

That was more than enough for Keough, who held the Bison to a pair of hits in 5 innings. Hasek singled in the second and Trey Cervantes doubled in the fifth. Keough walked 1 and struck out 3 before giving way to Sayre to start the sixth.