D-C prevails in Bencriscutto's FVC finale

Considering the key part Dundee-Crown coach Fred Bencriscutto has played in building the reputation of the Fox Valley Conference as one of the toughest baseball conferences in the state, it was only fitting that the retiring field boss went out a winner in his final FVC game Saturday night.

Dundee-Crown tied its regular-season finale against Jacobs in the top of the seventh, when Logan Kissack hit a solo home run. The Chargers then won the game 9-8 when Kissack stroked an RBI double in the top of the eighth in a contest played at Trout Park in Elgin.

"I think that's a good way for him to go out," Kissack said of winning one for his coach. "Everybody came together and hit real well, which is good, because we haven't hit that well in the past."

That trend changed in Saturday's 12-hit victory over Jacobs (11-14, 6-9), a win that not only allowed Dundee-Crown (14-13, 7-8) to avoid a sweep in the three-game season series but also guaranteed Bencriscutto at least a .500 finish for the 10th time in his 18-year coaching career.

"We respect coach Ben and we want to send him out on a good note," said Dan Kilchenman, who went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles. "We played for him. We had to keep on fighting and use our bats."

Dundee-Crown's bats produced in the third inning, when Eric Barber pulled an inside pitch from Jacobs starting pitcher Mike Castillo over the left-field fence for a 2-run home run and a 3-1 lead.

D-C's lead expanded to 6-1 in the fifth inning with a 3-run rally fueled by a Kissack RBI single and Kilchenman's 2-run double.

But Jacobs clawed back into the game with 4-run fifth inning. Jon Amann and Matt Igara each blasted solo home runs in a steady rain against Kilchenman before a 46-minute lightning delay halted the proceedings.

When the game resumed D-C reliever Brendon Schumacher loaded the bases before he unleashed a wild pitch. Jacobs' Bobby Molinaro scored on the wild pitch and Brandon Stroh followed suit when the throw to nail Molinaro got away.

D-C pushed it's lead to 7-5 in the sixth when Willie Larson singled in a run.

However, Jacobs roared back with 3-runs to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Ryan Lesner tied the game 7-7 with a 2-run double to the fence in right center. Molinaro then laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Igara with the go-ahead run.

"It was a fun game," Jacobs coach Eric Sanders said. "I told the kids as far as our won/loss record this week we struggled. But we saw a lot of good things and we're taking the steps we need to take to get ourselves prepared (for the regional)."

The game was moved to the pristine field at Trout Park by Sanders as a way of paying tribute to Bencriscutto.

"I'm a big fan of coach's," Sanders said. "Knowing that this would be his last conference game and with him being inducted to the (Illinois Baseball Coaches Association) hall of fame this year, we thought it would be a nice gesture to bring the game over here."

Jacobs and Dundee-Crown will face each other one more time in a winner-take-all Class 4A regional semifinal at Dundee-Crown on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.