Baseball: The numbers favor Lakes at Grayslake Central

The scoreboard at the Grayslake Central baseball field wasn't working on Tuesday afternoon.

Not that the host Rams minded.

They weren't thrilled with the score anyway.

"It just topped off the day, and to be quite honest with you, I'm glad it wasn't working," Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen said. "We didn't want to see the score today."

Meanwhile, Lakes, the visiting team, didn't need a scoreboard to know that things were going very much its way.

A 2-run home run in back-to-back innings for the Eagles keyed a huge 8-2 Northern Lake County Conference victory over a Grayslake Central team that had lost just twice previously.

Lakes improves to 15-9 on the season and 9-7 in the NLCC. Grayslake Central drops to 20-3 overall and 10-2 in the league.

"It felt really good," Lakes senior Michael Behrendt said of hitting one of the home runs. "And we've been waiting for these guys."

"These guys" are the Rams of Grayslake Central. And the Eagles of Lakes have long memories, and remember how Grayslake Central swept them last year, including eliminating them from the state playoffs.

Grayslake Central went 4-0 against Lakes last season.

"They got us out in the sectionals last year," Behrendt said. "This is the team we've been wanting to beat."

Grayslake Central actually got off to a 2-0 lead and held that lead through the first four innings. Starter Coby Moe was humming for the Rams.

But then a couple of pitches from Moe ended up being just perfect for Behrendt and Ryan Selig, who has missed most of the season recovering from shoulder surgery. His home run off of Moe was just his 10th at-bat of the season.

"This is only my third game back, so I'm just getting back into the swing of things," Selig said. "I tore my labrum (in the right shoulder) the third game of the football season and I played the rest of the season with it. I got 10 anchors in my shoulder to fix it. It's a little sore, but I want to be out there because I want to win."

Jason Volpe also helped Lakes win against Grayslake Central. He drove in 2 runs as well.

Meanwhile, Behrendt, pitcher Matt Grubb and Joe Glassey all finished with 2 hits apiece, part of a 10-hit effort by the Eagles.

On the mound, Grubb limited Grayslake Central to just 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out five over six innings. Grubb's pitching record moves to 3-3.

"Credit Grubb. He got stronger as the game went on, without a doubt," Whalen said. "That's what good pitchers do. You could see him gaining confidence and our hitters struggled to make adjustments. You can put part of that on us, but you've got to tip your hat to him, too,"

Moe, Grayslake Central's ace, had good numbers, too, rolling up 5 strikeouts to just 1 walk over five innings.

But he wishes he had the two home run pitches back.

"I think I hit my spots for the most part," Moe said. "They (Behrendt and Selig) both put good swings on the ball and made plays and, you know, things happen. It was a tough day but we battled and played hard. They just came out and they beat us today."

Lakes coach Bob Holst said his team was ready for Grayslake Central after a rough run against the Rams last year.

"They're a good club and it was their ace on the mound," Holst said. "This was good for us. But we still have two more games with them."