Lancers try to be satisfied with split

St. Charles North and Lake Park both had reasons to think they should have swept Saturday's baseball doubleheader in Roselle.

At the same time they both understood why they split it.

After talented North Stars lefty Danny Jimenez gutted out a 6-5 win in the opener, Lake Park bounced back to claim a 6-3 Game 2 victory behind sophomore Kevin Miller, pitching only his second varsity game.

"It's a roller-coaster ride, mentally and emotionally," said St. Charles North coach Todd Genke. "I'm very disappointed in a split. We had too many mental mistakes today, and you just can't do that against a good team."

In Game 1 three second-inning errors pushed Lake Park (13-9, 9-7) to a 2-0 lead on Ryan Wegner's suicide squeeze bunt and on a first-and-third double steal where Mike Ostrowski stole home.

A pair of Lake Park errors helped the North Stars score 4 runs in the top of the third. Matt Stevens' 2-run single sparked the rally. K.C. Wright and Brandon Nothnagel singled home runs to give St. Charles North (14-6, 10-4) a 6-2 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.

Then things got crazy. With the bases loaded and two out, Lake Park's Matt Kennedy blooped a 3-run double down the right-field line that the umpire ruled fair as it landed right near the foul line.

With the tying run in scoring position, Jimenez (4-1) -- who allowed no earned runs -- notched his 13th strikeout to preserve the win.

"We took it hard in the first game, we felt we should have won it," said Lancers first baseman Brian Serrano. "We made some defensive mistakes, and our coach gave us a little speech in between games. That got us ready for the second game."

In Game 2 Miller (2-0) gave up a first-inning run on Jake Thornton's RBI groundout, but he followed with three scoreless innings to allow his team to grab control at 3-1. Two runs scored on Serrano's fourth-inning single.

The Lancers moved ahead 5-2 in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Wegner and Kennedy. Ben Coleman extended the lead to 6-2 with his sixth-inning home run.

Ryan Richardson, who went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in Game 2, pulled St. Charles North within 6-3 with an RBI double in the seventh.

"We're a much better team than how we played in the second game," Jimenez said. "We expected a sweep, and we just didn't come out prepared in the second game."

Miller struck out four, walked two and scattered 10 hits in a complete game.

"I kind of gave the guys the business a little bit after the first game," said Lancers coach Dan Colucci. "I was happy they came out and responded in Game 2."

-- Kevin Schmit

Wheaton North 7, Glenbard East 3:ŒMatt Palackdharry went 3-for-3 and launched the go-ahead, game-winning home run in the fifth inning as the Falcons (17-6, 11-3) kept their lead atop the DuPage Valley Conference. Jack DeAno tripled and homered. Bob Ryan blasted his fourth homer of the season for the Rams (6-16, 4-10).

Naperville North 9, WW South 8:ŒThe Huskies (16-8, 8-6), who trailed 8-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh, won the DuPage Valley Conference game in the eighth when Ben Kelsey drove in the decisive run with his fourth hit. Nick Giannini won in relief. Nick Brown homered for the Tigers (9-11, 8-6).

Benet 13, St. Patrick 12:ŒThe Redwings (15-8, 9-2) pulled out a wild one in the East Suburban Catholic Conference when Alex Staehely, who homered earlier in the game, singled home the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Bryan Roberts (6-1) struck out three to earn the win with 2 innings of relief. Staehely, Pat Gelwicks and Matt O'Rourke each had 3 hits.

Morton 5-2, Addison Trail 2-7:ŒNick Larsen was the winning pitcher for the Blazers in Game 2 of the West Suburban Gold doubleheader.

Bartlett 4-5, Waubonsie Valley 2-7:ŒThe Warriors (9-13, 6-8) scored all their runs in the fourth inning of their Game 2 Upstate Eight Conference victory. Ryan Servos (1-1) pitched 5 innings for the win. Adam LeRoy and Dan Walker each had 2 hits.

Glenbard South 9, Oswego East 3:ŒJoe Biagini went 4-for-4 with 2 homers -- giving him seven on the season -- and 5 RBI for the Raiders (15-9) in their nonconference win. David Suffern struck out 10 in 6 innings to win on the mound.

St. Francis 10-4, Mather 1-6:ŒMike Pugliese went 3-for-4 in the opener, and Ryan Snyder did the same in Game 2 as the Spartans (9-10) split the nonconference doubleheader. Andrew Zettinger (2-3) pitched St. Francis to victory in the first game.

York 8, Rolling Meadows 6:ŒJon Brogan picked up the win, Steve Adkins earned a save and Andrew Johnson homered for the Dukes (13-10) in their nonconference victory.

Lisle Tournament: Lisle (13-10) finished second in the three-team tourney. The Lions lost 11-1 to Holy Trinity for the championship, after beating Immaculate Conception 9-2. Jay Osika had 2 doubles and Jon Kolosky and Lee Gorski each clubbed home runs to support freshman pitcher Nick Thome (1-0). IC's Jose Godinez went 2 for 2 with a double.

Downers Grove North 13, Proviso West 0:ŒThe Trojans (15-5, 9-2) won the West Suburban Silver game in 5 innings. Eric Jagielo and Trevor Snyders each doubled and homered.

Softball

Benet 7-0, Marian Catholic 1-7:ŒMeghan Eastman struck out 11 and Lindsey Rohan went 2-for-3 with 3 runs batted in for Benet in a 7-1 win over Marian Catholic in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday in Lisle. Benet (14-10) lost the second game 7-0.

Lake Park 12, Antioch 6: Missy Mazur went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI, and notched her 13th win on the mound for the Lancers (16-4). Lynsey Ciezki and Alexis Munaco both had 2 hits and scored 2 runs.

Naperville North 2, Wheaton North 1: Sammy Marshall went 3-for-3 and Sarah Adam had a double and RBI for the Huskies (12-9-1, 2-6 DuPage Valley Conference). Layne Engel (7-2) notched the win for Naperville North.

Plainfield Central 2, Glenbard South 0: The Raiders managed just 3 hits against Plainfield Central's Brittany Adcox (11-1), who struck out 12.

Plainfield South 5-0, Hinsdale South 4-1: The Cougars scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and another in the bottom of the seventh to rally past Hinsdale South. The Hornets won the second game that was called after five innings.

Streamwood 4, Waubonsie Valley: Ally Seplak, Becky Horton and Tori Spears all doubled in the loss for the Warriors (4-15, 2-9 Upstate Eight Conference).

Rolling Meadows Tournament: Katie Klco went 2-for-3 with a homer, and Gina Pizzaferrato struck out seven in Addison Trail's 4-1 win over tournament host Rolling Meadows. The Blazers (5-13) lost to Elmwood Park 4-2 in the second game of the day.