St. Charles North 2, Bartlett 1
Brandon Nothnagel's reaction said it all -- this wasn't your normal basehit.
The St. Charles North senior clapped his hands, pumped his fist and let out a shout while rounding first base after his 2-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted the North Stars to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over visiting Bartlett.
The win keeps St. Charles North (8-3, 4-0) perfect in the Upstate Eight while dropping Bartlett (5-5, 4-4) to .500.
"It was exciting," Nothnagel said. "It was kind of a lethargic game for five innings. I've always been waiting for that one hit and it finally came through.
"It's always huge to win the 1-run games."
Nothnagel's hit spoiled a strong outing from Bradley-bound Bartlett starter Mike Derby. The lefty kept the North Stars off-balance for 5 innings, holding them scoreless on just 2 singles.
The North Stars' Brian De la Torriente matched Derby through five innings in a matchup of future Missouri Valley Conference pitchers. De la Torriente is headed to Northern Iowa.
Derby delivered the hardest hit ball by either team in the top of the sixth, an opposite field double that plated Ryan Schrader and gave Bartlett a 1-0 lead.
But with runners at second and third and only one out, the Hawks weren't able to add to their lead. De la Torriente stranded the runners with a strikeout and groundout.
"Brian was fantastic on the mound," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "He knows how to pitch. He didn't have his best stuff today but he battled. He's a competitor. He deserved the win."
De la Torriente also started the winning rally in the sixth with a leadoff single. Sophomore Matt Stevens followed with a single on a hit-and-run, setting the stage for Nothnagel to deliver the game-winner.
Nothnagel fell behind in the count 1-2 before stroking the ball into right field.
"I shortened up my swing, saw it and drove it," Nothnagel said.
"I thought he (Derby) made a good pitch and the kid went out and got it," Bartlett coach Rocco Marinucci said.
Sam Weinberg, who has been battling a sore arm, relieved De la Torriente in the seventh and fanned two to earn the save.
"He said was good for an inning," Genke said of his Western Michigan-bound senior. "He just goes right at people."
De la Torriente threw 63 of his 99 pitches for strikes. He allowed 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out six to even his record at 1-1.
Derby (3-1) lost for the first time. He walked five and hit two batters to go with 6 strikeouts.
"I was happy with the way the boys played tonight," Marinucci said. "They came out with a good approach and we played a good team and a couple balls here and there…that's the way it bounces."
Bartlett had its chances, leaving 8 runners on base including 5 in scoring position.
St. Charles North sophomore shortstop Ryan Richardson turned a nifty 6-3 double play to get De la Torriente out of a second-inning jam. In the third, first baseman Zach Vouros stretched to catch an errant throw, coming off the bag to apply the tag that prevented a run.
Genke said he was proud of the way his team came back after an emotional win over defending state champion Neuqua Valley on Tuesday.
"You've got to give credit to their pitcher," Genke said. "He's going Division I for a reason. He threw the ball very well and kept us off-balance. We had a lot of trouble today picking up his breaking ball.
"We kind of had a little bit of a hangover. I was kind of worried about that. We kind of slept walk through the first three or four innings. We didn't quit. I'm proud of the way we came back. That's a heart of a champion."