Baseball: Ciero warms up to Glenbard West victory
With Downers Grove North having Senior Day on the field before Tuesday's West Suburban Silver matchup, Glenbard West junior Joey Ciero was afforded plenty of time to warm up in the bullpen.
And when the right-hander stepped on the mound for the first time in the bottom of the first inning, he was more than ready to go.
In control from the opening pitch, Ciero allowed just two hits while striking out seven in the Hilltoppers' 11-1 road victory in six innings. The junior lost his shutout with two outs in the final inning on an RBI double by Nick Bacarella.
"I usually like to warm up a little longer," Ciero said. "I throw more than most pitchers do. I want to make sure that I'm ready for the game.
"I like to throw my fastball inside and I was locating pretty well today. I pitch to contact and my defense makes plays; they have done a great job all year."
Glenbard West's offense has also been strong this spring and the Hilltoppers pounded out 12 hits on Tuesday.
Kyle Engstrom put the visitors ahead for good with an RBI triple in the second inning and he came around to score on a groundout. After pushing a single run across in the third, Glenbard West exploded for five runs in the fifth, with Grant Lalla, Jack Campanella and Joey Gavac contributing run-scoring hits.
"Really up and down (the lineup), everybody has been putting good swings on the ball," said Engstrom, who also had a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. "We have an aggressive approach at the plate and on the bases. We knew coming into the year that we had a pretty good lineup and we have some guys on the bench who can come in too.
"Our expectations at the beginning of the season were high. We are a senior-heavy team, seven seniors are starting. We've been playing well and we are just rolling with it right now. That's our mindset."
The Hilltoppers improved to 12-8 overall and 7-6 in league play. They have single games remaining with Hinsdale Central and the Trojans this week and a three-game series against Proviso West next week.
"Joey was really good," Glenbard West coach Andy Schultz said. "He pounds the zone and challenges guys. He throws the ball over the plate and forces teams to beat him by swinging.
"We've been playing well, even in some of our losses, we've played well. We want to continue playing well and hopefully be playing our best ball two weeks from now."
Downers Grove North fell to 8-17 and 6-11 in the Silver.
"Glenbard West has been a good hitting team all year," Downers Grove North coach Kyle Briscoe said. "They've been a team that has hit all year, so kudos to them. And I tip my cap to their pitcher, he did a good job out there."