St. Charles North Stars trample Elgin 14-0
With the crazy weather this spring season has brought, St. Charles North ace Danny Jimenez has seen a lot of things on the mound.
Saturday was a first.
Jimenez took a no-hitter into the fourth inning against Elgin before Dan Schmerber singled with one out. That was the only hit Jimenez surrendered as he improved to 5-1 with a 9-strikeout performance in The North Stars' 14-0 victory in five innings.
Elgin's bats got a little hotter in Game 2 of the Upstate Eight Conference doubleheader, but again St. Charles North was on a roll, sweeping the doubleheader with a 9-1 victory.
Jimenez set the tone for the day, striking out eight of Elgin's first nine batters in Game 1.
"I just tried to get ahead of every batter," Jimenez said. "The strikeouts in the beginning always get you going. It keeps you going through the game."
St. Charles North (18-7, 14-5) also kept the bats going all game.
After taking a 2-0 lead into the third, the North Stars tattooed Elgin starter Isaac Serna (0-5) for 5 runs. Ryan Johnson jacked a 2-run home run and Brian de la Torriente and Brandon Nothnagel each had RBI singles.
De la Torriente nailed a 2-RBI double in the fourth and Johnson scored de la Torriente on an RBI double as St. Charles North extended its lead to 12-0 after four innings.
Johnson finished the day going 3-for-6 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. De la Torriente was 4-for-6 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. St. Charles North finished with 9 extra-base hits and 29 total hits.
"Extra-base hits can be contagious," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "A couple of guys get them and it seems the balls are flying all over the field."
Elgin (5-18, 5-17) caught a little of the extra-base fever in Game 2 as well.
Adam Jazweic nailed a pair of doubles, the second leading to the Maroons' lone run of the day in the bottom of the fourth.
After finishing with just 1 hit in Game 1, the Maroons, who are hitting around .215 as a team entering Saturday, finished with 5 hits against Game 2 winner Dan Mettler (2-0).
"We did a better job putting the bat on the ball," Jazweic said of the Maroons' Game 2 hitting efforts. "We got a couple of hits."
Despite getting hits Elgin struggled to string them together, which left 6 runners stranded in the game, including 4 in scoring position.
"Jiminez was tough in the first game," Elgin coach Dave Foerster said. "You have to put the ball in play to win. It's good that our attitude was a lot better in Game 2."
Kevin Borst had a 2-RBI single in the fifth and Johnson nailed a 2-run home run in the second for the North Stars in Game 2. Mike Stackowiak (0-4) took the loss for Elgin.