Shah helps Glenbard North out of a tough spot

With both sides running low on pitching at the end of a long week, no one knew what to expect from Friday's key DuPage Valley Conference baseball opener between Glenbard North and Wheaton Warrenville South.

No one, by the way, came away disappointed.

In a showdown that quickly developed into a pitchers' duel, Glenbard North broke a scoreless tie with 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning and pulled away to a 7-1 victory at Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field in Carol Stream.

Neal Shah, the Panthers' No. 4 starter making his first conference start of the season, scattered 5 hits and let his defense work as Glenbard North (14-6, 8-2) pulled even with the Tigers (10-11, 8-2) atop the DVC standings.

"I knew it was a big game and it was fun to step up," said Shah, a junior who struck out one and walked three. "We've just got to stay humble and move on and try to win the next one."

Shah and WW South counterpart Joe Pilalis kept the bats at bay through five innings until the Panthers finally broke through in the sixth starting with John Bosco's 2-run double down the right-field line. Luke Greenberg, Sam Ledbetter and Eric Orze added run-scoring hits, and Glenbard North added 2 runs in the seventh on Shah's RBI single and Greenberg's sacrifice fly.

Shah allowed WW South's lone run in the bottom of the sixth on Paul Monaco's sacrifice fly, but that's all the offense the Tigers could muster. The Tigers tried to mount a two-out rally in the fifth and loaded the bases, but Glenbard North second baseman Nick Barrett snared a line drive to end the threat.

The Panthers answered right away with the 5-run sixth.

"When we were on a run there, we were finding the holes and getting those hits," said Tigers coach Tim Brylka, whose team won its first eight DVC games before losing the last two. "That's what it's been like in these close games. You can't let up for one second because something's got to break eventually."

With the pitching rotations reset, both teams are expected to start their aces in Saturday's rematch in Wheaton. That means Eric Orze (5-0) for the Panthers and Chris Simpson (5-0) for WW South.

"We were in a tough spot from a pitching standpoint, but Neal stepped up and did a good job," said Panthers coach Rich Smelko.

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