St. Charles North blanks Batavia again
There are certain moments that can help determine whether a coach keeps a pitcher in a baseball game when he is struggling with his command.
St. Charles North senior Sam Hubbe faced a couple of those moments early on against Batavia Wednesday afternoon.
Hubbe walked 4 of the first 9 batters he faced while hitting another as he struggled with his command over the first 2 innings.
After inducing a double-play grounder to shortstop Zach Mettetal with the bases loaded in the second, Hubbe retired 14 of the final 16 hitters during the North Stars' 6-0 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over the Bulldogs (12-16, 11-9) in St. Charles.
"Mentally, I needed to take the time to just breathe," said Hubbe, whose early control problems forced North Stars coach Todd Genke to warm up a reliever in the bullpen in the second. "You have to change your rhythm a little bit. I think regathering myself is really what helped."
Hubbe's day began by plunking Batavia leadoff man Steven Busby with the first pitch of the contest.
"Baseball is a funny game because Sam has had some issues in the first inning," said Genke. "You come out here and first pitch he hits the batter and it's like, 'OK,' but to his credit, he hung in there and he got stronger as the game went on.
"That's the measure of a competitor."
Hubbe, who also walked a pair in the first, survived thanks in part to a double play which he started by fielding a grounder.
"I don't know if we were close to taking him out but it certainly helped to get that big double play that he started and obviously we got another big double play," said Genke.
St. Charles North (22-4, 16-3), which has won 7 in a row and 10 of its last 11, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first off of Bulldogs junior southpaw Ben Lynam.
After Cory Wright coaxed a 1-out walk, Tyler Mettetal singled to right-center to put runners on the corners for designated hitter Kyle Novotney, who drove in Wright with a groundout to the right side.
The North Stars added a second-inning run on Brendan Joyce's 2-out RBI single before Hubbe began to settle in on the mound.
"Those first two innings were a little rocky but as the game progressed I was able to find my stuff," said the right-hander, who allowed 3 hits and struck out 6 - including the final 4 batters.
Batavia coach Matt Holm called Hubbe "effectively wild."
"That's the only way we were getting on (walks)," said Holm, whose team hasn't scored a run over the last 14 innings against North Stars pitching. "He (Hubbe) also wasn't throwing anything to really hit, either. He throws hard and mixes it up. He found his stuff."
Luke Corcoran and Wright each delivered 2-run singles as the North Stars added 4 insurance runs in the sixth.
Defensively, the North Stars received a lift from sophomore shortstop Zach Mettetal (5 assists), first baseman Wright and catcher Kyle Khoury, who threw out a would-be base stealer in the fifth.
"Zach Mettetal is really coming of age," said Genke. "He played for us last year as a freshman and now he just looks comfortable there. He's attacking the high chopper when he needs to and standing back when he needs to.
"That's huge to have your captain in the infield go make plays like that. Pitchers know with that groundball it's an out."
The opposition has noticed Mettetal's infield play as well.
"To me, the most impressive thing I've seen the last two days is their shortstop," said Holm. "I know their pitching is good - no doubt about that - but he (Mettetal) makes every play. He makes tough plays. The balls that other teams are not getting to - he gets to. I think he's the difference maker quite honestly."