Baseball: Willowbrook hitters share the fun against Addison Trail
Willowbrook center fielder Jon Kelso might boast a .562 batting average, but that doesn't mean he's had to carry the Warriors' offense.
Their lineup depth shined again on Thursday.
Even with Kelso going 2-for-4 - actually seeing his average drop from .565 - four other players drove in runs in four different innings as Willowbrook's baseball team beat host Addison Trail 5-4 in their West Suburban Gold matchup.
"Top to bottom, we rely on everybody," Kelso said. "We try to get runs for our pitchers, and they do a good job out there. It helps take the pressure off them."
Kelso had singles in his first two at-bats and scored both times, first on a wild pitch and then on a third-inning M.J. Ranieri single. The Warriors (17-5, 9-2) scored in each of the first four innings and held on late.
A run-scoring fielder's choice by Michael Scali in the bottom of the seventh pulled Addison Trail (10-10, 6-5) within 5-4, but Warriors reliever Scott Kohrt stranded the tying run at second base to end the game and preserve sophomore Jack Nilles' sixth victory.
Addison Trail stranded four runners in scoring position, including two in the pivotal third inning when the Blazers narrowed the gap to 4-2 on a 2-run double by Ricky Perez, who also had a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
"Squandered opportunities," said Blazers coach Mike Kennedy, whose team received 6 solid innings from starter Trevor Fulmer. "The good teams are going to make you pay for that. But we came back and competed hard. We just didn't get that big timely hit."
Jack Hines, Mason Kamp and Marshall McDonnell all had run-scoring hits for Willowbrook, which clinched its fourth Gold series victory of the season.
"You always want to add on and try to get a run an inning," said Willowbrook coach Vic Wisner. "There were a lot of opportunities for us to get runs, so I'm pretty pleased with our approach."
Follow Kevin on Twitter