Naperville North in control for win

Always the perfectionist, Jake Naumann was a bit hard on himself after notching his 21st victory for Naperville North's baseball team.

"I only had control of one pitch today," the senior ace pitcher said of his fastball after Wednesday's win over Waubonsie Valley. "I just need to get comfortable again."

On the flip side there's no doubt the Huskies are comfortable with Naumann on the mound. Showing it at the plate, they beat visiting Waubonsie Valley 9-4.

"They've been bailing me out with the hitting, so hopefully later in the season I can bail them out pitching," said Naumann, who's gotten at least 8 runs of support in each of his four starts.

The offensive surge started in the bottom of the first after Waubonsie Valley (0-4) took a 2-0 lead on Naumann (3-0) in the top of the inning. Eric Sousanes' RBI triple and a run-scoring groundout put the Warriors ahead.

Naperville North (6-1) responded with 6 runs - only two of them earned against Waubonsie Valley starting pitcher Kevin Kirchner (0-2) - by taking advantage of an error and 5 walks. Charlie White smacked a 2-run single to break it open.

"It was huge for us, it was a momentum gainer," Huskies coach Carl Hunckler said of the 6-run inning. "I think it was huge for Jake as well. I think that was a big pick-me-up from his teammates."

Naumann pitched 5 1/3 innings, escaping unscathed from a fourth-inning jam when the Warriors put the first two batters on base. He allowed 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out four.

Waubonsie Valley added runs in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk by Sousanes and scored its final run in the sixth inning when Danny Walker singled home a run. White, however, closed out the game with 1 2/3 strong innings of relief to earn his first save. He struck out two straight batters to end the sixth-inning threat.

Trevor Romeo went 3-for-3 for Waubonsie Valley, while Nick Laskowsky had a pair of hits for Naperville North. Danny Sagen scored 4 runs.

"Good things are going to happen," said Waubonsie Valley coach Dan Fezzuoglio. "We hit the ball well against one of the better kids in the area, and that's encouraging. I'd rather be working the kinks out now instead of at the end of the year."

BOX SCORE

Naperville North 9, Waubonsie Valley 4

Waubonsie Valley 210 001 0 -4-7-1

Naperville North 610 101 X -9-7-3

2B: WV: Romeo.

3B: WV: Sousanes.

WP: Naumann (3-0); LP: Kirchner (0-2); Save: White (1).