Baseball: Bartlett turns the tables on South Elgin
What a difference a day made for the Bartlett baseball team.
After taking a brutal loss on the chin in the opener of their 3-game series against rival South Elgin on Tuesday the visiting Hawks turned the tables with a 9-3 win over the Storm on Wednesday to even the series at a game a piece. Tyler Yang went the distance on the mound to pick up the win for Bartlett.
The two teams meet Thursday at South Elgin in the rubber game.
"It was a complete flip-flop from yesterday," Bartlett coach Devin Rosen said. "We challenged the kids to come out with more energy and determination and they did. We got some confidence early and it kept building. In baseball you try to stay at an even keel from game to game and even inning to inning by not getting too excited after a win or too down after a loss. So we want to keep that steady approach going into the final game of the series."
The Hawks (10-16, 8-10 Upstate Eight Valley) took advantage of some opportunities early on to score their first four runs without getting a hit. In the first inning they plated 3 runs with the help of 2 walks and 3 South Elgin errors. In the fourth inning the Hawks were aided by a pair of walks and added another unearned run.
Bartlett broke the game open in the fifth inning with 5 runs. This time around the Hawks' bats did some damage. Joey Allen delivered the big blow with a 2-run homer. Jonah Medina added an RBI single.
"Some of us seniors had a long talk after the first game," Allen said. "We hadn't beaten South Elgin in four years and we needed to make the most of our last couple of chances. I've been slumping at the plate, so I just went up there looking to jump on the first fastball I saw. I got a good one to hit on the home run."
It was Allen's third home run of the season.
"We've been telling him to take more of a nice easy approach up there," Rosen said. "He has enough power where he doesn't have to overswing to hit it a long ways. Today he got a pitch to his liking and drove it out."
On the mound Yang surrendered 10 hits, but battled out of trouble with the help of some stellar defense.
"It was definitely a full team effort," Yang said. "The run support was great and the defense behind me was awesome. I just concentrated on throwing strikes. I know a lot of their guys, so I felt good about how to pitch them. The slider and the curveball were working pretty good."
Yang had just 2 strikeouts, but did not walk a batter.
Ben Fisher had a diving catch in center. Left fielder Nick Pavell tracked down a fly ball in the left-center field gap while shortstop Mike Vaca made a couple stellar plays on a groundball and a liner.
"Tyler did a great job of throwing strikes today," Rosen said. "He was effective with his movement and location. He's been coming on strong lately and is getting better and better. I think the defense behind him gave him a lot more confidence, too."
South Elgin (12-8-1, 10-7), on the other hand, committed 6 errors and allowed 6 free passes.
"Those have been our Achilles' heel all season," South Elgin coach Jim Kating said. "When you spot a team that many extra at bats and runs its's hard to come back. We just have to put this behind us and get refocused on playing the way we know we are capable of playing."
Nate Gomez and Andrew Gambini had RBI singles for the Storm. Kyle Crosby was tagged with the loss.