Wrap: St. Charles N. stops Bartlett; Larkin gets W

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 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."

Larkin 7, South Elgin 4: All tied up at 4-4, Larkin (6-6, 5-4) put together a 3-run seventh inning to pull ahead of South Elgin (4-4, 4-4) and hang on for this Upstate Eight Conference win. Tyler Shore (3-1) was on the mound striking out eight in the complete game effort. Plate efforts were led by Justin Kalusa, who went 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. Jake Kane went 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

Matt Wright (2 hits, HR, RBI, 2 runs) and Kyle Daker (2 hits, RBI) led the Storm offense. Pete Scaffidi took the loss.

Burlington Central 1, Harvard 0: Burlington Central (6-5, 2-0) remains unbeaten in Big Northern East play after this 1-0 win over Harvard, which gives the Rockets their third straight shutout. Bryan Bell threw the complete game reaching just 66 pitches to get it done, and scored the lone run of the game going 1-for-3. Mark Gorney had the game's only RBI.

Marengo 2, Hampshire 1: Hampshire (4-7, 2-1) suffered a tough Big Northern East loss despite solid plate efforts from Tyler Bentley (2-for-3, 2b), and a solid outing on the mound from Brandon Gehringer (6 IP, 2 runs, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts).

Elgin 2, Waubonsie Valley 2: Suspended due to darkness, Elgin and Waubonsie Valley sit in a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning, and will resume play today. Currently, John Smith leads the Maroon offense with 2 hits including a double and an RBI. Isaac Serna kept Waubonsie at bay allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts in 7 innings of work.

Cary-Grove 12, Prairie Ridge 2: With timely offense from Matt Nelsen (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Eric Aguilera (2-for-4, RBI, 3b), Nick Hammonds (2-for-5, RBI) and Don Fitzgerald (2-for-3, RBI), Cary-Grove (11-3) came up with this Fox Valley Conference crossover win. Tyler Herman (2-1) was on the bump allowing 2 earned runs on 8 hits in seven innings.

Mike Butler, Bobby Martin and Nick Martini each had doubles for the Wolves. Donnie Baran suffered the loss allowing 4 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits in 3 innings of work.