Schmidt's 1-hitter helps Cary-Grove sweep Dundee-Crown
When you think of the Cary-Grove starting rotation the names of seniors Larkin Hanselmann, Jim Perkins and Nick Franz come up.
You can add junior Dan Schmidt to the list.
The hard-throwing left-hander hurled a 1-hit shutout as the Trojans completed a sweep of Dundee-Crown 10-0 in five innings in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division baseball action in Cary Saturday.
With a 7-run sixth inning, Cary-Grove claimed the opener 9-2. The game, suspended from Friday, started with one out in the top of the second.
Schmidt was one out from tossing a no-hitter in the nightcap but D-C's Jim Welzien stroked a solid single to left field for the Chargers (15-9, 7-5).
Schmidt struck out 7 with 1 walk.
"I felt a little soreness in my arm but overall I felt great," said Schmidt. "My curveball was really biting. I was aware of the no-hitter. The kid (Welzien) from D-C got a solid hit."
Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland was impressed with Schmidt's effort.
"Danny was outstanding," said the Cary-Grove coach. "He has a live fastball but teams in the Fox Valley Conference can hit the fastball. His curveball and straight change were very effective."
The Trojans (17-6-2, 9-1) broke open the game with 8 runs in the fourth keyed by a 2-RBI double from Wyatt Mascarella, a 2-RBI single by Eric Kenuik and a run-scoring single by Hanselmann.
"You can't give a team like Cary-Grove multiple outs in the innings," said D-C coach Jon Anderson. "They will take advantage of your mistakes."
Like the second game, Cary-Grove utilized the big inning with 7 runs on 7 hits in the sixth off losing pitcher Dan Denz to break a 2-2 tie in the first game of the twin bill.
Cary-Grove sent 13 batters to the plate in the crucial inning. The key hit was a 3-RBI double from Tyler Pennington.
"I was looking for a dead red fastball and I got it," said the talented sophomore. "I was able to turn on it and hit it hard."
Perkins, the winning pitcher, along with Zack Forney and Mascarella, collected run-scoring singles in the 7-run inning.
Pennington led the Trojans' 11-hit attack with 2 hits and 4 RBI while Perkins collected 2 hits with an RBI and Matt Sutherland delivered
an RBI single in the third.
Perkins struck out 8 with 2 walks in throwing the complete game. He gave up 2 runs on 6 hits.
"They have a good hitting team," said Perkins of the Chargers. "I had to mix in my curve and it had a good bite to it."
D-C, which scored its runs on wild pitches, got 2 hits from Denz.
"Eric (Hedmark) and Dan pitched great," said Anderson. "You have to play seven good innings to beat a good team like Cary-Grove. You can't have a bad inning."