Baseball: Huntley duo shuts out Crystal Lake Central
Used primarily as a closer last season, Huntley senior Cam Reed is adjusting nicely to his new role as a starter.
Throwing 5 innings with 85 pitches, Reed tossed a 3-hit shutout in the Red Raiders' 4-0 Fox Valley Conference win at Crystal Lake Central Thursday afternoon.
The Huntley senior, who benefited from a flawless defense which didn't commit an error, struck out 6 while walking 3 in earning the victory.
Reed had a no-hitter until Central's Cam Nissenson stroked a single with 1 out in the fourth inning.
The Tigers' biggest threat to score came in the fourth. Adam Wittenberg led off the inning with a walk followed by singles by Nissenson and Jacob Staples to load the bases.
Reed got tough and struck out Jack Updike and Tony Mann to get out of the jam.
"I would rather start and I am getting used to my new role," said Reed. "With the wind it was hard to control my curve at times. Overall I threw the ball well. I just beared down in the fourth and got some strikeouts to get out of the inning. My defense is outstanding. I would say 98 to 99 percent of the time my defense will make the play."
Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski was pleased with Reed's effort.
"Cam had 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball until Central's first hit," said the Huntley coach. "He has been outstanding this season and was outstanding today. He has done a great job in basically a new role."
Huntley reliever Brad Model retired all 6 hitters he faced in 2 innings with 3 strikeouts.
Huntley (6-3, 1-1) scored first in the second inning on an RBI infield single from Chris Constantino off Central pitcher and loser Jordan Daugherty.
The Red Raiders, who have lost 3 games by a total of 4 runs, scored an unearned insurance run in the third to take a 2-0 advantage.
Huntley added 2 runs in the fifth on a run-scoring triple from Matt Rodriguez and an infield groundout by pinch-hitter Denny Smith.
With 6 hits, Rodriguez led the offense with a 2-for-2 effort including an RBI triple and 2 runs scored.
"We excelled in 2 of 3 areas," said Jakubowski. "Cam and Brad pitched tremendously for us, Our defense made all the plays behind our pitchers. Our hitting is still a work in progress. We have struggled at times this season but we are getting better. Our offense was better today. I really liked our situational hitting."