Baseball: St. Charles East downs Waubonsie for 1st win
After dropping two of its first three games by a combined total of two runs and tying the other contest, St. Charles East's baseball team searched for a more positive result Monday afternoon.
The Saints (1-2-1) found what they were looking for - their first victory.
Senior center fielder Pat Griffin went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI while sophomore catcher Cole Conn also drove in 3 runs during the Saints' 7-1 nonconference victory over Waubonsie Valley (1-2) in St. Charles.
Griffin enjoyed his move to the 3-hole in the batting order and responded with a well-executed sacrifice bunt to help set up the Saints' 2-run first inning.
John Dellostritto (2 for 4, 3 runs scored) led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball before a walk to Clay Conn put runners on first and second. Griffin's bunt advanced runners to second and third and Dellostritto raced home with the game's first run on a wild pitch.
Moments later, Conn scampered home on a dropped third strike to make it 2-0.
"We scored both of those runs off that sacrifice bunt," said Saints coach Len Asquini. "Whenever we do that, having to sacrifice a hitter his at-bat, when those runs score it's very gratifying."
Griffin came through again the very next inning, lining a 2-out, 2-run double to right-center as the Saints' lead swelled to 4-0.
"It was a fastball outside," said Griffin. "Coach (Asquini) was telling me right before the at-bat to just punch it over the second baseman's head. I did and it found a gap."
Cole Conn's RBI single capped the 3-run second to make it 5-0.
After Zach Laws' 2-out RBI single got the Warriors on the board in the third, the Saints regained their 5-run lead on Griffin's fourth-inning, RBI hustle double.
"It was an off-speed pitch," said Griffin. "The outfield was playing pretty deep and it was more of a shallow hit. I was thinking two (bases) right out of the box."
"It was huge," Asquini said of Griffin's 2-out double. "We had a runner at third with nobody out and a couple of good hitters up but they couldn't get the job done. Then Pat comes up and picks them up. It was really big day for Pat."
Senior left-hander Brett Brueske (1-0) pitched 3-hit ball over the first 5 innings, allowing a run while walking 2 and striking out 2 before junior Connor Dunfee worked a pair of scoreless innings.
"Our starter had a real nice outing," Asquini said of Brueske. "He was efficient. Sixty-nine pitches in five innings - about 13-14 pitches an inning, that's outstanding."
"It wasn't a perfectly pitched game but damage control," added Brueske. "Only one run scored and we ended up winning the game."
Drew Conn added a pair of hits for the Saints.
Waubonsie junior southpaw Jake Klaft suffered the loss.
"We gave them too many baserunners whether it was walks or errors," said Warriors coach Bryan Acevedo. "When you spot a good team like that some runs early, it's hard to come back.
"We think he's (Klaft) got a high ceiling. He shows signs of being special but today wasn't that day."