Wrap: Miller earns coach's trust
Two batters into Tuesday's Upstate Eight Conference baseball game at South Elgin, Lake Park coach Dan Colucci was second-guessing himself.
The sophomore pitcher Collucci had called up days earlier, right-hander Kevin Miller, began the first start of his varsity career by walking the first two hitters he faced.
"After the first couple of batters, I was looking at sending him back to the sophomores," Colucci said with a chuckle, "but he settled down nicely and threw strikes."
In fact Miller struck out the next three South Elgin hitters looking, stranding runners at second and third and setting the tone for Lake Park's 3-1 victory.
"In the first inning I was a little nervous, but I settled down and threw strikes," Miller said. "I took a deep breath, reset and kind of went from there."
Miller retired the side in order in the second but 2 more walks in the third inning, coupled with a Lake Park error, loaded the bases for South Elgin with two outs.
Again Miller escaped unscathed, this time by inducing a comebacker that he deflected and tracked down in time for the third out.
"We had opportunities to break the game wide open twice with bases loaded in one inning and second and third and nobody out in another," South Elgin coach Jim Kating said. "In games like we're playing now, you've got to come through. You've got to put the ball in play and get a run out of both of those situations and that changes the whole complexion of the game.
"We need to make adjustments to what's being called. We took some good pitches that we should have hit the opposite way and we didn't take advantage of that."
South Elgin received a solid performance from its own sophomore right-hander, Drew Buddle (1-1), who tossed 6 innings of 3-hit ball with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks.
Lake Park (11-7, 7-5) finally broke through with 3 earned runs against Buddle in the fifth. An infield hit and 2 walks loaded the bases with one out for Mike Ostrowski, who laced a run-scoring single to center field that gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead.
"I didn't feel any pressure," Ostrowski said. "I knew whether or not I did it, one of my teammates would come through for us. I just felt really relaxed and saw the ball."
Lake Park went on to score 2 more runs in the inning on Matt Kennedy's fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly by Mario Fearon.
Miller held South Elgin (7-7, 7-7) hitless until the sixth inning, when he surrendered a run-scoring ground-rule double to Ryan Kellner. But with Kellner later on third base after a wild pitch, Jon Meuser was unable to make contact with an outside pitch on a suicide squeeze bunt and Kellner was tagged out, dousing the rally.
Lake Park senior Brian Serrano pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
-- Jerry Fitzpatrick
St. Charles East 5, St. Charles North 2:ŒWhen it was all over, Chris Burgess, a senior pitcher for St. Charles East, stepped off the mound and had a huge smile on his face.
Not only did the Central Michigan-bound righty earn his first win of the season, he did it against the Saints' biggest Upstate Eight Conference rival -- St. Charles North.
Burgess pitched the distance, allowed 5 hits and 1 walk and struck out seven in the Saints' 5-2 win over St. Charles North at St. Charles East.
"It felt good, it felt really good," Burgess said. "My defense was behind me, the 2-out hitting was clutch, (Steve) Schenck catching for me and calling pitches, it was awesome for me. Everything was working. I can't complain."
Burgess was awarded the game ball after he improved to 1-2 on the season.
"Chris threw a great game today," St. Charles East coach Mark Foulkes said. "He was ahead of a lot of hitters, he threw two pitches over for strikes consistently and kept them off-balance pretty well."
Schenck played a key role at the plate and behind it. As Burgess' catcher, the two worked together for the first time this year without the help of Foulkes calling the pitches.
"It just hasn't been going that good this season, so we decided to try it," Schenck said.
Schenck was the hero on the offensive side as well. With the score tied at 2 and with two outs in the third inning, he hit a huge 2-run double with two outs and two strikes that gave the Saints a lead they never let go.
"(St. Charles North starter Danny) Jimenez is a tough pitcher, but Steve just got a hold of one," Foulkes said. "I don't think people realize how close (North Stars' shortstop Sam Weinberg) was to catching that. That basically went right over his hands, so that big hit really gave the rest of our team a lot of confidence."
"I knew I hit it hard, so I knew it was going to drop," Schenck added. "I was just looking for a fastball, and I got it."
St. Charles East (8-9-1, 7-4-1) scored in the first on an RBI walk from Burgess. The North Stars (11-5, 7-3) answered with a pair of runs in the second, led by Brian De la Torriente's RBI double. He eventually scored on a wild pitch.
The Saints tied the game on another RBI walk from Zach Scott before the big third inning. They scored a final time in the sixth on an RBI single from Tom Lollino.
"We came out sluggish," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "I don't know how we can come here and not be ready to play. … I give (the Saints) credit. They were ready to play."
Jimenez had an uncharacteristic outing and took his first loss of the season. After 3 innings, Ryan Johansen relieved him and gave up just 1 run.
"Danny is human, he's a high school kid and he just didn't have it today," Genke said. "I'm proud of Ryan Johansen…he was ready to go today. He kept us two runs behind, which is what we needed. Sometimes, you have to have guys who will step up and keep you one run or two runs behind to give your offense a chance, and he did that today. It's a shame because it would have been nice if we came back and got him the win there."
--Christine Bolin
Neuqua Valley 11, East Aurora 0:ŒIan Krol (3-1) threw a 5-inning perfect game for the Wildcats (17-3, 13-1) in the Upstate Eight Conference matchup, striking out 11. Krol, who had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs, homered along with Jason David and Kyle Mener.
Benet 3, Joliet Catholic 0:ŒBryan Roberts (5-1) pitched a 2-hitter with 12 strikeouts for the Redwings (13-6, 8-1) in a key East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown. Benet scored all its runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game-winner coming home on Mike Chmielewski's RBI single.
WW South 2, West Aurora 0:ŒDustin Quattrocchi (3-0) struck out 10 in a complete-game 6-hitter for the Tigers (9-8, 8-3) in their DuPage Valley Conference win.
Glenbard North 4, Naperville North 3:ŒThe Panthers (4-10, 4-8) pulled out the DuPage Valley Conference win on a seventh-inning RBI single by Dave Belford. Steve Cocat was the winning pitcher.
Glenbard East 2, West Chicago 1:ŒAndrew Edwards blasted a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie for the Rams (6-14, 4-8) in their DuPage Valley Conference win. Eric Knol pitched a 2-hitter. Barrett Serrato homered for West Chicago (6-11, 4-7).
Driscoll 11, St. Francis 1:ŒDavid Schwabe tripled and drove in 5 runs for the Highlanders (15-4, 7-1) in their Suburban Catholic Conference win. Corey Eisenmann improved to 5-1, striking out four, walking none and scattering 4 hits in the five-inning game.
Montini 4, Immaculate Conception 0:ŒSean Keeley (1-0) pitched a 2-hitter for the Broncos (11-4, 6-2) in the Suburban Catholic Conference win. Nick Malecki's bases-clearing triple in the top of the seventh provided some insurance.
Downers South 11, Willowbrook 3:ŒThe Mustangs (20-4, 11-1) claimed a three-game sweep in the West Suburban Gold. Joey White, Mike Wido and Lenny Kapovich combined for 7 hits while Walker Topps (1-0) won on the mound.
Waubonsie Valley 11, Lockport 5:ŒThe Warriors (8-12) scored 6 runs in the top of the 10th inning to win the nonconference game. Eric Sousanes singled home the go-ahead run. Johnny Strauss added a 2-run single and Brad Custer singled in another run. Matt Brancheau (2-0) won in relief.
Softball
Fenton 4, Riverside-Brookfield 3:ŒSasha Molina broke a 2-2 tie with a double in the top of the fifth inning, and Fenton beat Riverside-Brookfield for its 13th straight win. Molina went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and Deanna Vazquez drove in 2 runs for Fenton (14-5, 4-0 Metro Suburban Conference).
Lake Park 6, Streamwood 0: Angie Bates (3-0) struck out 10 for the Lancers (14-3, 10-2 Upstate Eight Conference), who host Bartlett in a rematch today. Alexis Munaco went 2-for-4 with a 3-run home run and 4 RBI.
Bartlett 2, Neuqua Valley 1: Lauren Wydra pitched a 2-hitter and Nicole Beck homered for Bartlett, which snapped Neuqua Valley's five-game winning streak.
Glenbard West 4, Addison Trail 3: Briana Wyatt drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th for the Hilltoppers. Ashley Steinhilber went 2-for-5 and scored a run, and Lauren Albrecht got the win for Glenbard West.
Glenbard South 12, Rochelle 0: Amanda Straka went 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, a triple, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored for the Raiders (15-3, 7-0 Western Sun Conference). Robin Borowski (4-1) struck out 14 and Lauren Podgorski went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Montini 5, Immaculate Conception 4: Kaitlin Maggiore singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh, stole second, went to third on a fly out and scored ahead of the throw on a grounder to third for Montini (6-6, 4-3 Suburban Catholic Conference). Lara Mangialardi struck out seven for the Broncos.
West Aurora 4, Naperville North 1:ŒPinch-hitter Kiara Towles led off the sixth for the Blackhawks (15-5, 4-2) with a double and scored on Sam Arenkill's single. In the seventh, she tripled home two more runners.
St. Charles East 4, Waubonsie Valley 2: Victoria Perez limited the Warriors to 2 hits over 7 innings. Rebecca Reinbold drove in 3 for the Saints (9-10-1, 6-4).
Hinsdale South 13, Leyden 0: The Hornets scored 7 runs in the first inning, and Kelly Payne added a 2-run homer in the second.
Nazareth 2, Hinsdale Central 1: Visiting Nazareth scored 2 runs in the top of the seventh to pull out a non-conference win. Megan Vicino homered in the sixth for the Red Devils (5-10).
Walther Lutheran 4, Timothy Christian 3: Walther Lutheran scored a run in the bottom of the 10th to hand Timothy Christian (10-8, 8-1) its first Private School League loss. Janna Strodtman struck out nine for the Trojans.