Baseball: Glenbard North outslugs Bartlett

Bartlett and Glenbard North combined for 17 runs and 20 base hits during Thursday afternoon's nonconference baseball game.

By the time the final pitch of the game was thrown by sophomore left-handed reliever Jasper Serences, the Panthers (4-1) had earned a hard-fought, back-and-forth, 10-7 victory in Bartlett.

Despite the fact that their pitchers issued 8 walks and a hit batsman as well as 8 hits, the Panthers kept their early season momentum moving forward.

"We'll take the win," Glenbard North coach Rich Smelko said of the neighborhood rivalry. "A lot of these guys know each other from having played youth and travel ball against each other.

"It was a good, competitive game."

Glenbard North jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead thanks in part to RBI singles from Jim Zay and Dom Rotundo.

However, the Hawks (1-4) answered with a 4-run third that featured a run-producing single by Andrew Fehr, Matt Angelone's bases-loaded walk, and a 2-run, 2-out opposite-field single off the bat of Geno Frieri.

"Our timely hitting has gotten a little better," said Hawks coach Devin Rosen.

Glenbard North regained a 6-5 lead with a 2-run fourth.

Back-to-back singles from Justyn Orozco and Brandon Gonzales helped set up Jon Martinez's fielder's choice RBI to tie the game at 4-4.

Two batters later, junior Anthony Ferreri's RBI single put the Panthers back on top 5-4.

Ferreri's big day continued in the sixth when he laced a 1-0 pitch up the middle for a 2-run single that extended the Panthers' lead to 8-4.

"I was actually going up to bat and one of my teammates said to jump on the first pitch," said Ferreri, who went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored. "The first pitch was a ball but I was still ready to hit the next one."

Bartlett roared back with a 3-run sixth that included 3 walks, Tyler Yang's double and RBIs from Ben Fisher, Kevin Vesta and Fehr (2 for 4, 2 RBI) to pull within 8-7.

But the Hawks' bullpen couldn't get the shutdown inning it needed as the Panthers padded their lead with a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh.

Junior pinch hitter Marc Muller drove in the Panthers' final run with a sacrifice fly.

"Our guys did a good job of adding runs," said Smelko. "Considering the wind blowing in and the temperatures, I was happy with the way we swung the bats."

Gonzales, a transfer from Bartlett, went 3-for-4 with an RBI double while Zay, Rotondo and Orozco each added a pair of hits for the Panthers.

"It was good to see him (Gonzales) swing the bat well against his former team," said Smelko.

Winning pitcher Mike Wellman worked 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts.

Aaron Hattendorf (4 IP, 5 R, 7 H) suffered the loss for the Hawks.

"Pitching is our biggest Achilles' heel right now," said Rosen. "We've got to go out there and get quality innings and quality starts. We're giving up too many runs."