York making comeback wins routine
York's baseball team typically needs only one rally to pull out a victory, but the Dukes needed an extra comeback on Tuesday.
A 4-run top of the seventh inning powered York to an 8-6 West Suburban Silver victory over Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.
Tuesday marked the fifth come-from-behind win for the Dukes, who also trailed 3-0 before scoring 4 runs in the fifth.
A pair of errors opened the door in both innings. An Ian Steinorth single and Mike Bernal bases-loaded walk tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh. With one out Mike Pastuovic singled in the go-ahead runs after fouling off three two-strike pitches.
"A lot of these games we haven't come out with our best effort, and we're still grinding through and doing whatever we can to get the win," Pastuovic said. "We think we're never out of a game, and we've shown that throughout the season. The more we play, the more confident we get."
Both sides took advantage of 10 combined errors.
Andrew Deardurff's bases-clearing, fifth-inning triple tied the game at 3-3 for York (9-1, 3-1), and he scored on an error to put the Dukes ahead 4-3. Glenbard West (4-5, 1-2) reclaimed a 6-4 advantage in the bottom of the inning, with Ryan Petersen singling in an insurance run after the Dukes committed 2 errors.
Glenbard West starter Sam Kaske, who struck out 10 in 6 innings, was followed by reliever Kolin Kennebeck in the seventh. York's Burke Corcoran, who also went 6 innings, picked up the win and Charlie Pakenas, who struck out two in the seventh, earned the save.
"If you take a 6-4 lead into the seventh, you need to win the game," said Hilltoppers coach Andy Schultz. "Especially when you give it away. We've played nine games now and only a couple of them have we played a full seven innings in terms of clean baseball. We've got to execute better."
Glenbard West's D.J. Ficarella singled home a run in the third inning. The Hilltoppers scored twice in the fourth inning to build a 3-0 lead.
"I don't know what it is with this group, but they always feel like they're in a ballgame," said York coach Dave Kalal. "I wish they'd figure it out sooner in a game, but as the game goes on they get a little more focused and things start happening for them."
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