Legion baseball: Santee's pitching powers Arlington

John Santee gave Arlington just what it needed in their first game of this American Legion tournament.

Santee threw a complete game, striking out 7 as Arlington cruised past GBN 7-3 in the second round of the Division 1 Cook County Legion tournament Tuesday at Recreational Park in Arlington Heights.

"I was just throwing strikes and trying to pitch to contact," said Santee, who graduated from Prospect last month but did not play for his high school team. "I love Legion baseball. This is as fun as it gets."

Arlington Post 208, which as the top seed in the tournament had a bye in the first round, will host the Northside Braves at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Recreational Park in the semifinals.

After Arlington (15-13) took a 1-0 lead after one inning, Santee and Arlington got into trouble. GBN Post 791 struck for 3 runs in the second thanks to 3 Arlington errors.

"We were throwing the ball around and not hitting the cutoff man," Arlington coach Dennis Drolet said. "We just weren't prepared to play.

"But we regrouped and refocused and started playing Arlington baseball after that."

With their minds set straight, Arlington struck for 6 runs in the third.

Arlington sent 11 batters to the plate, with five of those batters getting on base with singles. Jake Cavaiani, Alex Niecikowski, Sean Delacruz, Nick Donzelli and Jim Boldt all singled, with Niecikowski and Boldt each driving in a run and Donzelli driving in a pair.

"Coach Drolet really got on me from third base," said Donzelli, who had an awkward swing just before his hit. "But because he did, I was able to refocus. I started to think about what coach (Lloyd) Meyer said about trying to go the other way, and I got a good solid hit to drive in 2 runs."

With the lead, Santee became even more confident on the mound. He allowed just 2 hits in the final 7 innings while inducing 11 groundouts. He also got solid defensive plays from Niecikowski at second base, Cavaiani at short, Brett Gibson in center and Boldt in left.

"I was confident out there the whole game," said Santee, who had never pitched 9 innings in a game. "My arm feels real good right now. I have always had a rubber arm."

Drolet said that Santee's performance puts his team in better position as Arlington heads deeper into the tournament.

"Having Santee go 9 innings for us was huge," Drolet said. "It gives us more depth from the mound as the tournament goes on."

Drolet said that Santee looked strong throughout the game.

"He stayed within himself, and that was the key," Drolet said. "He slowed down and had good balance on the mound. He got into a rhythm and that's what it takes to get there."