Baseball: Practice helps Wheaton Academy beat Timothy Christian
Three straight days of outdoor practice is something rarely seen during an IHSA baseball season.
But that's exactly what Wheaton Academy enjoyed this week leading up to Thursday's Metro Suburban Conference crossover against Timothy Christian, a game moved to West Chicago to utilize the Warriors' artificial-surface field in the wake of heavy rains.
Wheaton Academy took advantage of the extra work with a crisp 7-1 victory.
Senior pitcher Payton Sowa allowed only 3 hits while coming two outs shy of a complete-game win. Jake Koslosky homered and drove in 4 runs.
"We knew they were a good-hitting team so I just tried to throw to contact and trust my defense," Sowa said. "We had three days off and that was a good time to prepare. We just had to get in the right mindset before the game."
The two offenses contrasted each other as Wheaton Academy (9-11, 6-6) scored in each of the first three innings and the Trojans (11-11, 6-7) struggled for a clutch hit.
Koslosky and J.D. Rienow singled in runs and Shane Baumgarten homered to push the Warriors to a 4-0 lead. Koslosky added a 2-run homer in the fifth.
Timothy Christian loaded the bases three times but managed just a lone run on a bases-loaded walk to Nick Huisman in the bottom of the seventh. The Warriors turned two double plays and saw nice defense from shortstop Luke Roman and center fielder Thomas Love.
"We had our chances early, but we still only had 3 hits," said Trojans coach Jim Snoeyink. "We've been up and down all year. We swung the bats really well Monday and Tuesday, but every day is a new day and we have to be ready every day."
Max Martin, who notched the final two outs of the game for the Warriors, went 3-for-3 while Sowa and Koslosky had 2 hits apiece. Trent Marrera went 2-for-4 at the top of Timothy Christian's order.
"It was our bye week, so we were able to work on a lot of things," said Wheaton Academy coach Brad Byrne. "It's just nice to be able to do that with a young team. I think it showed today. You don't get to practice that much during the season."
Follow Kevin on Twitter