Kalusa helps Larkin earn split with Belvidere North
After committing 4 infield errors in a 4-3 loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader against visiting Belvidere North, the Larkin baseball team took its frustration out on the Blue Thunder in Game 2.
The Royals pounded out 10 runs on 13 hits in a 10-0, six-inning victory to gain the split.
"I'd rather have the sweep than the split, but they're a pretty good ballclub, so we'll take it," Larkin coach Matt Esterino said.
Larkin (4-5) tied Game 1 against Belvidere North (5-2) at 2-2 in the fifth inning, thanks to a hard-hit double to the left-field corner by senior Jon Meidel.
However, an error by the Larkin shortstop led to a 2-run inning, making a tough-luck loser of Royals junior Scott Harm (1-1), who allowed just 3 hits.
"I think we caught a few breaks and took advantage of it," Belvidere North coach Jim Paddock said. "
Larkin pulled within a run in the seventh inning, when Justin Lewis led off with a single and later scored, but the Royals could draw no closer.
Larkin jumped to an early lead in Game 2. Senior Justin Kalusa tripled to lead off the first inning and scored on a Luc Geier groundout. Larkin added 2 more runs in the third inning with a run-scoring single from Harm and an RBI double by Geier.
The Royals then broke the game open with a 4-run fourth. Lewis led off with a single and Angel Aguilar drew a two-out walk. That brought up Kalusa, the leadoff man, who singled home Lewis to make it 4-0. Harm followed with a 2-run double and Meidel followed with another double off Belvidere North pitcher Doug Traceski to bulge Larkin's lead to 8-0.
"The first game we struggled a little bit, then we started seeing the pitches a little more," Harm said. "And usually everyone starts batting a little bit better in the second game of a doubleheader. We came back nicely."
Kalusa, a left-handed pitcher making his first start of the season in Game 2, was brilliant. He threw 6 shutout innings and held the Blue Thunder to 4 hits.
"I wanted to work fast, throw strikes and get in and out as fast as we can," Kalusa said of his approach. "We should have slaughtered those guys in the first game, but things didn't go our way in the infield. I just wanted to come back and show them what we could do in Game 2."
Kalusa is red-hot at the plate. He went 6-for-7 in the doubleheader, giving him 9 hits in his last 10 at-bats.
"I'm ready to get conference started," said Kalusa, whose Royals will open the Upstate Eight Conference season on Thursday against Streamwood. "I'm seeing the ball well right now. I can't explain it. It's kind of crazy. I think the second game showed what we can do as a team and what we can do individually as well."