Inadvertent 'small ball' swing puts Jacobs past Dundee-Crown

Stevie Krueger's game-winning hit in Jacobs' 2-1 victory over rival Dundee-Crown in Algonquin on Friday didn't travel more than 45 feet, proving sometimes it's not a matter of how hard the ball is hit but where.

With teammate Daniel Tenayuca standing at third base and Casey Dennison at first with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Krueger's excuse-me, check-swing tapper on an 0-2 count died in the grass halfway down the first-base line.

"I wasn't trying to swing, but I was trying to protect," Krueger said.

Charging Chargers first baseman Jared Ludwig slipped on the grass as he broke down to field the ball, so D-C pitcher Danny Denz tried to grab it with his glove and lunge to tag Krueger.

However, Denz was unable to pick the ball up. It was still on the ground when he made the tag, which the field umpire did not see initially. He called Krueger out before correctly reversing the call after conferring with the home-plate umpire.

"The ball fell out of my glove and I didn't make the play," Denz said. "It happens."

Winning pitcher Ryan George got a huge play from his defense in the sixth inning when D-C No. 3 hitter Brett Johnson lined a ball into left-center field that seemed ticketed for the wall. However, Ohio-bound center fielder Ryan Sargent laid out to make a spectacular diving catch. He then popped up and started a relay that nipped a D-C runner returning to first base for a double play.

"That was a sick play," George said. "I have all the faith in the world in Ryan, but honestly when I saw that ball hit I didn't think he was going to get to it. That was one of the best plays I've seen this year."

Two D-C baserunners reached against Jacobs closer Johnny Rohde in the seventh. However, third baseman Owen Oreskovich made a diving stab of Sam Ray's groundball and threw to first to seal the FVC Valley win for Jacobs (22-8, 11-40), which split the 2-game series

Rohde's 10th save in as many tries made a winner of George, who improved to 6-0. He limited D-C to an earned run on 5 hits, struck out a pair and did not issue a walk.

"My sinker was really working well," said George, a right-hander who mixed in cutters. "It had a lot of movement."

Dundee-Crown (16-11, 8-7) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Erik Hedmark, a freshman, ripped a solo home run to right.

Jacobs tied the game in the fourth inning. Matt Kozlak led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Oreskovich.

Denz (6-4) took the loss. The Memphis-bound lefty limited the Golden Eagles to 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and no walks in 6 innings. He struck out 10 to increase his area-leading total to 75 in 52 innings.

"He did a nice job. I wish we could get him a win," D-C coach Jon Anderson said. "Unfortunately, you need to score more than 1 run."