A baseball 'Storm' brewing

If South Elgin grows into a local baseball power in coming years, the last two weeks may be looked upon as the launching point.

After losing three of its first four games this season, including a two-game sweep by Waubonsie Valley and a disheartening 16-2 defeat at the hands of defending Class AA state champion Neuqua Valley, South Elgin stopped getting pushed and started doing some pushing.

The Storm evened its record with a meaningful two-game sweep of Bartlett, the program that in many ways spawned South Elgin's.

South Elgin coach Jim Kating spent eight years teaching and coaching lower level baseball at Bartlett High School.

Key South Elgin seniors like shortstop Ryan Kellner, center fielder Matt Wright, second baseman Kyle Daker and first baseman Kyle Fitzpatrick were teammates on Bartlett's 2005 Freshman A team alongside current Hawks Ryan Walker, Mike Selvaggi and Ryan Schrader.

They all played together during the summer for the Bartlett Silver Hawks travel team at Elgin's Trout Park and they made heads turn on the diamond as freshmen, when Bartlett finished 26-2.

However, that group was destined to split up a year later when South Elgin opened, creating a natural baseball rivalry each team now looks forward to all winter long.

"They'd been talking the whole year about it, and we just took it to them both games," center fielder Wright said of South Elgin's sweep. "I loved it."

Said Daker: "We've got a lot of buddies on that team, so it was good to take two from them."

Bartlett, a strong program that usually finishes in the upper tier of the Upstate Eight Conference, righted itself immediately by winning eight of its next 10 games to improve to 12-6 and 11-5 in the UEC through Wednesday.

Meanwhile, South Elgin used the Bartlett sweep as a springboard to seven wins in nine games, the best streak in the program's brief history.

"Once you get the momentum going you can do things that are unexpected," said Kellner, a smooth-fielding shortstop. "In our position, we have to come from behind because a lot of teams aren't expecting much from us. But we think we can surprise some people.

"We're feeling good, we're playing good. We just have to keep it going. We can't let little cold streaks take the air out of us."

South Elgin did hit a cool spell at midweek when they scored 2 runs combined in back-to-back losses to Lake Park to slip to 7-8, but for the most part the Storm has played well in the aftermath of the Bartlett sweep.

South Elgin, which has not played a nonconference game this season due to multiple weather cancellations, went on to beat East Aurora before splitting a tough series with District U-46 rival Larkin.

Then came another loss to Neuqua Valley, but the 2-0 final score was actually a confidence boost for the Storm in light of the caliber of competition and the lopsided result of the earlier meeting.

Josh Myers pitched 5 innings of 3-hit baseball against the defending Class AA champs, but he was out-dueled by veteran Ian Krol, who threw a no-hitter. A couple of defensive yips didn't help South Elgin's cause.

"We gave them their 2 runs," Kating said. "We made errors that gave them the runs. We were playing right with them and doing some good things.

"When the kids start believing in themselves, which I think is starting to happen a little bit, and trust themselves and get after it the way they should with energy, I think we're a pretty tough team."

Elgin found out how tough South Elgin can be last weekend. The Storm beat Elgin 10-3 last Friday and followed up with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday by scores of 20-3 and 2-0, proving they can win with their bats or their arms.

Those arms include a rotation of Myers (2-2), senior Pete Scaffidi (2-2), sophomore Drew Buddle and Kellner, who has 2 wins.

Kellner struck out 12 Maroons last Friday before suffering his first loss against Lake Park on Wednesday. Myers held Elgin to 3 earned runs Saturday in 5 innings in the 20-3 victory and Scaffidi gave up just 4 hits in 6 scoreless innings to win 2-0.

Buddle earned the save in the latter game, striking out a pair of Maroons to slam the door shut. The sophomore right-hander then limited Lake Park on Tuesday to 3 hits in a 3-1 loss.

"Drew has come up for us and pitched some really good games," Kellner said. "It's tough to come up and pitch on varsity, but he's kept his composure and done a really good job. We have some good pitching."

Having seniors for the first time obviously helps matters. Kellner gives the Storm senior stability at shortstop, the most difficult position on the diamond. He and Daker at second base form a dynamite double play combination.

"Ryan and Kyle do a nice job and that's been a key," Kating said. "At every coaching clinic I've attended, the No. 1 thing they said is that you need to be able to turn a double play. These guys do a nice job of that."

Seniors like Jonathon Meuser, who was hitting over .400 for the first month of the season, dependable Kevin Davis in right field, Kyle Fitzpatrick at first base and Dan Hansen in the outfield give the Storm a veteran presence they lacked a year ago.

Missing, however, is Wright, a team leader who is waiting for the results of x-rays to determine whether the shoulder he separated in the Larkin series will require season-ending surgery or not.

Junior Chris Ciccone has stepped in ably in Wright's absence. In last Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Elgin, Ciccone went 5-for-8 with a double, 2 triples and 5 RBI.

Other non-senior contributors include Buddle, who has been swinging a hot bat of late, and sophomore catcher Kyle Kinyon.

"The first year was a little divided, but now we definitely feel like we're a team," Kellner said. "We're our own team now."

With eight conference losses already, contending for the UEC title isn't a possibility. However, other reachable goals include the first postseason victory in school history and finishing strong against District U-46 foes.

South Elgin is 6-1 against its in-district rivals this season with only a three-game series against Streamwood remaining this weekend.

"Expectations are finally starting to be met," Kating said of a group he has coached for three seasons. "You've got your seniors, a group I've had for three years and now I've got some of the other groups I've had during the summer and they're starting to do some things that they're supposed to do, the little things.

"When we do play like we can and we get the good pitching we've been getting, we have a chance to do well."