Baseball: McHenry's Miller quiets Cary-Grove

The margin for error was razor thin with two of the best pitching prospects in Illinois taking the hill in Cary Tuesday.

McHenry pulled out a 4-1 Fox Valley Conference win in a duel between Louisville-bound, 6-foot-5 senior right-hander Bobby Miller and coveted Cary-Grove 6-3 sophomore right-hander Quinn Priester after the Trojans opened the door in the top of the sixth.

Cary-Grove (8-3, 3-2) was leading 1-0, thanks to Tyler Pennington's third-inning RBI bloop single that scored Ryan Ignoffo, who doubled with two outs.

However, Miller himself sparked a 3-run, sixth-inning uprising by leading off with an opposite-field double. A left-handed batter considered mostly a pull hitter, he laced a 1-1 breaking ball that one-hopped the left-field wall.

"They were putting the shift on me so I was trying to work the other way because I knew they were trying to get me to pull the ball," Miller said. "I've been trying to work middle and the other way this season because I've been getting the shift a lot."

It looked as if McHenry's first extra basehit of the game might go to waste after the Warriors' Nos. 3 and 4 hitters lined out against Priester, who already holds offers from Arizona State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Illinois and Indiana.

However, Owen Patzin and Jarod Wojcik worked consecutive walks to load the bases for Mike Lasiewicz. Priester (1-1) then bounced a 54-foot curveball for a wild pitch, which allowed courtesy runner Patrick Stewart to slide home safely with the tying run.

Lasiewicz subsequently hit a slow roller to shortstop. A low throw to first base bounced away for an error and allowed 2 more McHenry runs to cross for a 3-1 lead.

"You can't have walks and you can't have errors, and you certainly can't mix them in the same inning," Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland said. The Trojans committed 3 errors in the game

McHenry added a fourth run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Nick Finley against reliever Tommy Neilsen.

It was more than enough run support for Miller (3-0), who used a low-nineties fastball and devastating curve to strike out 10 batters. He threw 99 pitches over 7 innings, allowing an earned run on 6 hits and a walk.

Asked about his game plan, Miller said: "I go in with a game plan of I'm going to throw strikes and we're going to win the game." He threw 69 of his 99 pitches for strikes.

Priester, who likewise possesses a low-nineties fastball and an arsenal of breaking balls, tossed 102 pitches over 6 innings. He was charged with 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks and struck out 6.

"It's always fun to go against great competition," Priester said of the pitching matchup. "I really like to get to compete at a level like that against such great pitching. He was a little better today but I'm hoping to get another shot."

McHenry (6-2, 2-3) clinched a win in the 3-game series. The Warriors defeated the Trojans 5-2 in similar fashion Saturday, when Cary-Grove committed 4 errors.

"We played good ball for five innings but the game's seven," Pennington said of Tuesday's loss. "That's just the way it is. It's a tough one to swallow, but the best part is we get to come back and play again tomorrow."

The series concludes at Peterson Park in McHenry on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.