Baseball: Burlington Central knocks off Huntley
Things got a bit heated between the Huntley baseball team and host Burlington Central Friday, but reliever Anthony Larson kept his cool and preserved an 8-5 victory for the Rockets.
It was a nonconference game defined by chatter between dugouts and some unusual gamesmanship. At one point Central baserunner Craig Schuring was leading off second base and called timeout to complain to the field umpire that Huntley shortstop Charlie Nugent was kicking dirt at his feet in an effort to distract him.
The game looked like it might be a blowout. Burlington Central (16-7) scored 4 runs in the first inning and 3 in the second to take a commanding lead, but Huntley (15-11) introduced some natural tension by scoring 2 runs in the third inning and 2 in the fourth.
The Red Raiders closed the gap to 8-5 in the fifth inning when Noah Konie led off with a double and Trevor Ranallo smacked a run-scoring single.
Huntley had runners at first and second with no outs and the tying run at the plate when Central coach Kyle Nelson turned to Larson, his 6-foot-4, 215 pound lefty closer.
Nugent, Huntley's No. 8 hitter, greeted him with a successful sacrifice bunt to advance the baserunners. Larson struck out the next man he faced on 3 pitches for the second out and induced a tapper back to the mound to strand both runners in scoring position.
"This was one of the most heated games I've been involved in my whole career," Larson said. "The energy in this game was just building. I mean, you could hear it, dugout to dugout, back and forth. To come in and settle it down like that, mitigate the situation and get my team back in (the dugout) was big for me. That's something I try to do as much as I can."
Larson went on to pick up his fourth save of the season. He threw 2⅔ scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts to make a winner of starting pitcher Clay Midas, but his fifth-inning escape was the key.
"It took some momentum out of our sails right there," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We just didn't get the job done. Their pitcher did a nice job changing speeds and keeping us off balance. Tip your cap to them. They played better than us today and they were the better team."
Central's offensive pace setter was Kilian Vasica. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior turned on a first-inning offering from Huntley starting pitcher Brad Model (1-1) and blasted it approximately 50 feet beyond the left-field fence for a 3-run home run. Vasica went 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and was intentionally walked in his final at-bat.
"I didn't feel anything off the bat," Vasica said of his second home run of the season. "It was awesome, I'm not going to lie."
The Rockets collected 11 hits, including 2 apiece from John Murphy, Schuring (2 RBI) and Ryan Knowlton.
Huntley outhit Central 13-11. Senior Alec Coss drew the Red Raiders within 7-2 in the third inning with a 2-run home run, his first longball of the season. Junior Joe Rizzo went 3-for-4 with a double.