Baseball: Crystal Lake South gets win No. 10 against Grayslake Central

A 10-game winning streak sounds quite appealing, but it might be even a little better for the Crystal Lake South baseball team.

That's because on Saturday morning, South made it 10 in a row to start the high school baseball season. Senior Nick Wolski had a 3-hit day and reached base all four times as the Gators pulled away from home-standing Grayslake Central 8-2 in nonconference play.

So what's going on at Crystal Lake South?

"It's such a cohesive group of guys,'' Wolski noted. "The two classes have really jelled. We really play selfless baseball."

Wolski admitted he likes watching his infielders in action. He gets a good view from his first base slot.

"They are fun to watch,'' he said.

Wolski is not the only player on this team chatting up the virtues of this hot baseball team.

South junior Blake Kuffel singled sharply twice in the win.

"We really have bonded together,'' Kuffel said. "We feed off each other's energy. We also hit the ball well together. Today, we had to adjust to the pitching. We are used to see pitchers who can throw 90 miles per hour."

Both starting pitcher Riley Tannhauser (South) and Coby Moe (Central) had uneventful first innings.

Both Wolski and Kuffel singled to open the second inning, and both scored.

"We came through with the bats today,'' added Crystal Lake South coach Brian Bogda. "This team really executes when we need it."

The Rams (6-2) took advantage of 3 walks in the second. Ninth-place hitter Clay Stoffel drove in a run with clutch two-out single.

Central was clearly hurt by the pitcher's best friend. The Rams hit into three double plays on the day, killing several rallies.

"South is good,'' said Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen. "They are undefeated for a reason. Our situational hitting left a lot to be desired today."

Trailing 3-1 in the fourth, the Rams had hits from Jake Rubino and pinch hitter Jake Dooley. However, third sacker Brian Fuentes kicked off a twin killing to end the threat. Whalen was not shy about trotting up numerous pinch hitters.

"We have good chemistry here,'' Whalen said. "But guys here are still battling for spots."

The Gators used a pinch hitter of their own to open the sixth inning. And Ryan Parquette singled in that role. Kory Olsen and catcher Michael Swiatly added hits. One run came home a Scott Skwarek sacrifice fly and another on an RBI single from ninth-place hitter Brett Chubb.

The Rams answered back in their half of the sixth. Max Snowden's RBI double was the big blow.

Still, Bogda was pleased with his team's defense and pitching in this win.

"We were pitching to contact,'' Bogda said. "And those three double plays were big."

South broke the game open in the seventh. Olsen and Swiatly had the big RBI

hits as the Gators batted around and tallied the last 3 runs of the game.