South Elgin blows past Bartlett
The wind was gusting and South Elgin's Kyle Hays and Nick Menken made sure to point out early on that it wasn't going to be a good day to pitch on Tuesday as the Storm and Bartlett opened a 3-game Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division baseball series.
Dane Toppel (2-for-2, 2B, RBI, 3 runs, 3 stolen bases) led off the game by beating out an infield single and Hays, who finished with 3 RBI, followed with a 2-run homer to right-centerfield on a 3-1 count off Hawks starter Tripp Paris.
"He had to come to me with a 3-1 count, and I got a fastball and got a good swing on it," Hays said.
Three batters in, it was 3-0 in favor of the Storm as Menken hit a ball nearly to the same spot as Hays. Although South Elgin added some more runs, the first three batters produced all the runs needed in a 12-2 victory in five innings at Bartlett.
"I saw Kyle and how the ball was carrying with the wind," said Menken. "I knew it was blowing out to right and if I hit it in the air that way it had a chance to go out."
The Storm (8-2, 5-2) added a pair of unearned runs to end the top of the first inning with a 5-0 lead, but the Hawks (9-5, 6-1) tested that lead in the bottom half of the frame off winning pitcher Max Keough (3-1).
Helped by a pair of Storm errors and a Cory Krolikowski double, Bartlett was able to score an unearned run. The Hawks eventually had runners at second and third base with one out and the bases loaded with two gone, but Keough limited the host to the lone run.
Dru Gonzales led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo shot to right to pull to 5-2 and Krolikowski added his second double of the game, but those 3 hits were all Keough allowed in the complete game outing. Keough struck out 4 and walked 3 in the effort.
"I was a little scared early on after watching my teammates hit two home runs," Keough said. "I just knew I had to keep my pitches low and try and get grounders. Having the early lead helped my confidence."
"Max did a great job considering the conditions," Storm coach Jim Kating said. "He didn't have his best stuff, but he stayed consistent."
Paris (3-2) struck out 7 in 3⅔ innings of work, but he struggled with his control. He allowed 10 runs, only 5 were earned, and 5 of the Storm's 7 hits.
The Storm got 2 runs off a wild pitch and a passed ball, and Paris walked 3 and hit 4 batters. With nobody on base and two outs in the third inning Paris hit 3 batters, there was a dropped third strike that kept the frame alive and an error leading to 4 runs and a 9-2 Storm lead.
"I thought our mental approach was lacking," Hawks coach Chris Pemberton said. "After that first inning when they had some success, I thought that got into their heads a bit."
Antonio Danesi doubled and scored twice for the Storm.