Baseball: Four-hit day for Fricke as Buffalo Grove handles Wheeling
The hits kept coming for Zach Fricke and Buffalo Grove's baseball team on Wednesday.
Fricke had 4 of Buffalo Grove's 12 hits as the Bison knocked off Wheeling 10-5 in Buffalo Grove.
"We are a pretty good hitting team," said Fricke, who had 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. "We are pretty aggressive. We just hit."
Buffalo Grove coach Tim Miller said hitting is just one part for the Bison (15-1-1, 7-1).
"We actually do everything well," Miller said. "We have a good group of kids that play hard. They compete and are fun to be around."
John Carpinelli, who had 2 hits and 4 RBI, including a 2-run double, said the Bison have a special feel about them.
"It was a fun game to play," Carpenelli said. "There is something special about this team. I have never been part of a high school team that can hit this well. We feed off of each other's positive energy."
Leo Rule had 3 hits, a run scored and an RBI.
"I think as a team we are hitting really well," Rule said. "I think they are coming in bunches. I feel a pretty big responsibility being the leadoff man. I try to get the team going."
Rule did just that in the bottom of the first inning with his team trailing 2-0. Rule doubled and later scored to cut the deficit in half.
Wheeling (9-10, 5-3), which dropped Monday's game to Buffalo Grove 8-1, also had a fast start Wednesday. The Wildcats pushed over a couple of runs as Kyle Bullock and Mike Wiase scored thanks to a pair of sacrifice bunts and a single by Cade Kaplan.
Buffalo Grove pulled ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the second. The Bison scored 3 times behind hits by Fricke, Rio Komatani and Rule.
Wheeling roared back to tie it in the fourth. Walks to Andy Shover and Bryan Niznik and a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Pavia put runners on second and third. Wiase then delivered a 2-run single to make it 4-4.
Buffalo Grove broke Monday's game open with a big inning, and the Bison did it again on Wednesday. They scored 5 runs in the fifth on 4 hits and took advantage of a pair of errors by Wheeling.
Fricke doubled home one run, Mike Gran drove in another and Carpinelli double off the right-field wall to score two others to make it 9-4.
Buffalo Grove added another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Jack Vaselaney.
Wheeling, which had been shut down for nearly 3 innings by Bison reliever and eventual winner TJ Constertina, finally broke through in the seventh. The Wildcats scored on a RBI double by Zach Yfantis.
"It is big for us to take two from Wheeling," Miller said. "Our goal is to win the East and you have to win these games to do that."
Wheeling coach Jason Wieder said the Bison hit quite well against his team.
"BG is one of the best hitting teams we have seen all year," Wieder said. "They really swing it well."
Wieder says he's looking for his team to bounce back when they play again later this week.
"That was the message we gave our kids at the end," Wieder said. "We have a choice to make. We can hang our heads and let this thing linger or we can choose to fight and come back tomorrow and get better in practice."