Baseball: Naperville Central ends skid, beats Wheaton North
Liam Heath wasn't just facing his first start of the season. He was facing Naperville Central's biggest game of the season.
He met both challenges with a gem.
The senior right-hander struck out 11 and scattered 3 hits as the visiting Redhawks broke a four-game losing streak by beating Wheaton North 10-0 in six innings in Thursday's huge DuPage Valley Conference matchup.
Heath was pivotal in keeping the Redhawks (20-8, 14-6) in a first-place tie with Waubonsie Valley atop the DVC standings. He was slated to be a starter at the beginning of the season but a mild biceps strain limited his pitching.
A reliever thus far this spring, Heath finally turned it loose for the first time as a starter. He topped out at 86 mph while mixing in good off-speed stuff.
Heath walked one and hit two batters in a 75-pitch outing, stranding six runners in the first four innings. He retired eight straight to end the game.
"I've been pitching in a lot of games, but it was good to finally go out there as a starter," Heath said. "That's the most I've pitched this year, so I'm a little sore. But it's fine. We really needed to come out of here with a win."
The Redhawks came in hungry to snap a losing streak that came on the heels of a 10-game winning streak. They jumped on Wheaton North starter Sam Lawrence with 2 first-inning runs on RBI singles by Jack Hughes and Michael Nerger.
Jon Barker's run-scoring triple made it 3-0 in the third, and Noah Cinzio's RBI single sparked a 5-run fourth. Beau Buchanan singled home the Redhawks' 10th run in the top of the sixth.
"We've all been putting on a brave face saying we'll bounce back, but it doesn't just happen for no reason," said Naperville Central coach Mike Stock. "Today Liam made it happen."
Ryan Muehlfelt had 2 of Wheaton North's 3 hits. With four DVC games to play the Falcons (15-12, 11-9) are technically alive for a shot at the title, but Thursday's loss severely hampered their chances.
"Definitely not our day," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling, whose team rolled to a 9-1 win over the Redhawks on Wednesday. "Yesterday was one of our best wins of the year, and for whatever reason we just didn't have it today."
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