advertisement

Baseball: St. Charles East edges Glenbard East

The St. Charles East baseball team's goal for the week was to finish on a high note leading into the annual 3-game series against crosstown rival St. Charles North, which begins Monday.

Consider the momentum built.

The Saints scored in each of the first five innings against visiting Glenbard East, highlighted by a 4-run second, and junior reliever Conner Dunfee held the Rams scoreless for the final 3⅓ innings of Friday's 9-6 Upstate Eight crossover victory.

The win against Glenbard East (18-10) was the sixth straight for St. Charles East (18-7) since last Saturday. That streak includes wins against Geneva and Elgin and a 3-game sweep of Streamwood.

"Our defense played well, our pitchers pitched and, finally, the offense came alive," said Saints senior leadoff batter John DelloStritto, who on Senior Night went 3-for-3, drove in a run and scored twice. "We've been hitting well all week. It's nice to come out here before North next week and score a ton of runs."

Glenbard East scored 4 runs in the top of the second to grab a 4-1 lead, keyed by Jack Oberli's 2-run double. The Rams outhit the Saints 12-11, thanks to a 3-for-4 afternoon from their right fielder, who smacked 2 doubles, a triple, scored twice and knocked in a pair.

Oberli is hitting over .300 but his average could be higher if not for bad luck, according to his coach.

"He's been hitting the snot out of the ball," Glenbard East coach Joel Pelland said. "In the last series against East Aurora he must have hit four line drives right at their outfielders. He's been hard luck, but he's been solid at the top of the lineup for us all year."

The Saints answered with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Freshman Kyle Hayes' 2-run double staked St. Charles to a 5-4 lead.

Senior Jack Jordan made it 7-4 in the third inning with a 2-run home run off Rams starting pitcher Jack Crackel. The left-handed batter cleared the 345 feet sign in straightaway right field by 15 feet, aided by a 15-mph wind blowing in that direction.

"Off the bat I thought it was just a double," Jordan said. "I was just trying to hustle so I got to two all good so we had a runner in scoring position for the next guy. When I heard the crowd yell I knew it was gone. Maybe the wind helped."

The Rams drew within 7-6 in the fourth inning via two-out, run-scoring singles from Jeremy Johnson and Mitchell Glennon, but Dunfee closed the door. The right-handed reliever took over for starting pitcher Drew Conn with two outs and the potential tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. The sidearmer induced a flyball to center fielder Patrick Griffin to end the rally.

Dunfee stranded a runner at second in the sixth inning with one of his 4 strikeouts. He completed the save in the seventh by coaxing three groundballs to retire the side in order.

"I felt I made some adjustments from past performances," Dunfee said. "I was able to pitch with more confidence. I went with a different windup, pounded the zone and hit my spots."

"He was wonderful in relief," Saints coach Len Asquini said. "He came in in a tough situation, handled it and then ran with it the rest of the way. It was great to see."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.