Baseball: York sweats out victory against Glenbard West
York's baseball team smacked 7 hits in three innings and still couldn't shake Glenbard West.
The Dukes wound up winning on a seventh-inning run without a hit and without a ball reaching the outfield.
That's the kind of up-and-down season it's been for York, which beat the Hilltoppers 4-3 in Tuesday's West Suburban Silver matchup in Glen Ellyn.
On the heels of three straight losses - all in the Silver - it's a win the Dukes (13-9, 8-5) needed. For at least one day they looked more like the team that previously won nine of 10 games.
"We talk about quiet confidence, and we had a lot of that today," said York starting pitcher Matt Riecker. "We've definitely been struggling a little bit, but today was good to see. We made plays, ran the bases well and got the hits when we needed them."
Riecker struggled early while allowing 3 runs and 7 hits in the first two innings against Glenbard West. The senior right-hander, however, quickly settled down while retiring 11 straight between the third and sixth innings.
Stabilizing the game set the stage for the top of the seventh when York created the winning run. Marc Thieme walked, reached second on a sacrifice and third on a wild pitch. He scored on Nick Lee's groundout, Lee's third RBI of the game that gave York its 4-3 lead.
After the Hilltoppers' leadoff hitter reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh, Dukes reliever Brennan McGovern ended the game by coaxing three straight groundouts to second baseman Frank Romano.
"Our approach early on was fantastic, and then I don't know if we got a real good swing on a ball after the third or fourth inning," said Glenbard West coach Andy Schultz, whose team has won eight of its last 11 games. "If their guy settles in, we have to adjust. We have to be able to make the adjustment."
Lee's 2-run single in the top of the first was answered by a game-tying 2-run single by Arno Curtis in the bottom of the first. Matt Shoub's RBI single briefly gave Glenbard West a 3-2 second-inning lead, but York tied it in the third on Kevin Lipkin's run-scoring single.
Like Riecker, Hilltoppers starter Sam Kaske also settled down as the game moved along. After the teams combined for 15 hits in the first three innings, they managed only 1 hit from York in the final four innings.
"It was an interesting game, but we'll take any win right now," said York coach Dave Kalal. "Our kids battled all game long and it worked out for us."
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