Baseball: Zyzda zeroes in for shutout over Lake Zurich

It took him a little extra time to warm up.

But once he did, Barrington's Jake Zyzda was on fire.

Zyzda overcame the 36-degree temperatures to allow just a pair of hits as Barrington's baseball team edged Lake Zurich 1-0 Saturday in Barrington.

"It was better today than it has been for our other guys the last couple of days because the sun was out," said Zyzda, who improved to 2-1. "It was tough to warm up. But once I got going it was not too bad."

Zyzda threw 108 pitches, 66 which went for strikes. He struck out seven and walked three.

"I located the plate real well," Zyzda said. "I was able to put batters away when I got ahead."

Barrington coach Pat Wire said that Zyzda's toughness was the key.

"He was nails," Wire said. "He only had a couple hiccups and ultimately those hiccups were minor things."

Barrington (7-2) has struggled a bit offensively since returning from its spring trip to Florida to begin the season. The Broncos went 5-0 out of state and averaged 12.4 runs per game. But Lake Zurich pitchers Matt Svanson and Nick Sanders combined to limit Barrington to just 4 hits.

Barrington had scored just 2 runs in their first two games back in Illinois before exploding for 13 runs Friday in a win against Rockford Boylan.

On Saturday, the Broncos made a first-inning unearned run stand up.

Barrington loaded the bases, thanks to a double by Tristan Michaels, a hit batsman (Patrick Denhert) and a walk to Jacob Chapman.

Michaels then scored on an infield error on a ball hit by Jimmy Day.

The Broncos used some defense to support Zyzda. Barrington turned a double play in the first, with Denhert made a diving play at first on a groundball. And Zyzda helped himself on a groundball where the Broncos ended up tagging a runner out at third.

"The defense was a huge key," Zyzda said. "They made plays when I needed them."

Lake Zurich (3-5), which had its three-game winning streak snapped, had a huge opportunity in the sixth to at least tie the game.

With one out, Austin Matuszewski walked and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Zyzda fanned the next batter, but then walked Nick Sanders, who promptly stole second. Zyzda then induced a groundout to end the threat.

Zyzda made short work of Lake Zurich in the seventh, striking out the final two batters for the victory.

Wire thought about going to the bullpen in the seventh but Zyzda quickly talked him out of it.

"At the end, we were trying to make a decision to go with him or bring someone else in," Wire said. "I looked at him and he said, 'I want the ball.' And that was it. It was the carry over from a great football season."

Zyzda, who was a wide receiver for the Broncos last fall, stepped into a new role where he led the team in receiving and touchdowns. His performance earned him an all-area selection.

"The mentality in the seventh was to just to close it out," Zyzda said. "The sixth was tough because they got a runner on, and he is fast runner. But I made some good pitches to get out of it."

Lake Zurich coach Tom Reagan, who was at the helm for his first game after replacing Chuck Gandolfi on Thursday after Gandolfi was let go, said his team squandered its scoring chances.

"We squandered a few," Reagan said, "Overall, I am pleased with the moral of the team. Everyone is in the game and locked in. You can't be happy with a loss, but you can build off it."

Antioch 3, Palatine 0: Sonny Mentone tossed a complete-game 1-hitter at the Pirates (4-5) in a nonconference matchup.

Mentone struck out five and allowed only a single to Trevor Lyons.

John Petty drove in 2 runs for the visiting Sequoits.

Starter Charlie Van Dyke (5 innings) and reliever Ryan Anderson (2) allowed a total of only 4 hits - all singles - to Antioch.

St. Viator 11, Wrightstown (Wis.) 2: Starter Tyler Landoch and reliever Tony Nagle each allowed 1 earned run, and the St. Viator offense took care of the rest.

Dan Sullivan, Mike O'Neill and Cole Kmet each doubled in an 9-hit attack for the host Lions.

O'Neill had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs, Kmet and Brett DeSelm both drove in 2 runs and Brad McCullogh swiped a pair of bases.