Baseball: Davis, Grayslake North rally past Hampshire

Bound for the University of Missouri, where he hopes to maintain his "A" average while studying engineering and business, Grayslake North senior Stefan Davis needed a rare do-over on Saturday.

With his Knights and visiting Hampshire locked up in 1-1 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division baseball game, Davis was in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the sixth when he got picked off second base by Whip-Purs catcher Matthew Wians.

Doh.

Grayslake North didn't score in the inning.

"I felt awful because I thought we could get it done in the sixth inning," Davis said. "But I had my chance to make another statement in the seventh, and I did what I could."

Provided an opportunity at redemption in the bottom of the seventh, the kid who's opened a book or two delivered textbook execution.

The lefty-hitting Davis hit reliever Carter Lawler's 1-2 pitch over the head of shortstop Kevin Michaelsen with two out and the bases loaded, lifting Grayslake North to a 2-1 win.

"They put a shift on me, so I was trying to hit it to the right side," Davis said after what he called his first walk-off hit ever. "But he threw me an outside off-speed (pitch) and I just shot my hands and went with it."

"He did a great job with 2 strikes," Hampshire coach John Sarna said of Davis. "Give credit to him."

For Grayslake North (11-9, 3-4), it was the Knights' second win in as many days over Hampshire (10-9, 3-3), which lost its third game in a row.

First-year Knights coach Brett Hill couldn't have been happier for Davis.

"Great redemption," Hill said. "He's hard enough on himself. I don't have to beat up on him too much."

Both starting pitchers, Grayslake North junior righty Patrick Schaefer and Hampshire senior right-hander Mike Kruse, threw the ball well. The 6-foot-2 Schaefer (2-1) tossed a complete game, allowing 6 hits, striking out five, walking one and hitting one.

"He did a great job," Hill said of his second-year varsity pitcher. "He's run into some tough luck, where we've had a bad bounce here or there. We picked it up behind him today. ... Jon Sawyer, my pitching coach, has been working with him on his curveball, and I think that's the best (Schaefer's) curveball has looked."

Had Davis not delivered his game-winning hit, Schaefer was not going to pitch the eighth.

"I was spotting the fastball well, and the curveball/slider was moving well," Schaefer said. "It feels good to win like this (walk-off)."

Kruse, who announced on Twitter on Saturday that he'll continue his baseball career at Benedictine University, threw 6 innings. He scattered 5 hits, walked three, struck out four and got a no-decision.

"He pitched well enough to get us a 'W,' " Sarna said. "But offensively, we've been clueless (recently). We have peaks and valleys. Offensively, we have a lot of work to do, on the base paths especially."

Jake Manning had a double for the Whip-Purs, who stranded 5 runners in scoring position in the first four innings and had runners thrown out trying to steal by Knights catcher Alex Carrillo in the sixth and seventh innings. Noah Schrader's fifth-inning groundout scored the visitors' only run.

In the bottom of the seventh, with one out, Jake DaMore singled and Carrillo (2-for-4) raced to second with a double when the right fielder couldn't snag his low liner. After Brendan Taskovic was intentionally walked, the Whip-Purs got a fielder's choice before Davis ended the game.

DaMore, batting in the No.-2 hole, went 4-for-4 with a stolen base.

"He changed his approach today," Hill said. "We've been talking a lot to him about getting on top of the ball and making some adjustments."

Chuck Burr's fourth-inning RBI fielder's choice plated the Knights' first run.