Surging Batavia comes from behind again with 6-5 win over Waubonsie
Give Batavia an obstacle and the Bulldogs are going to find a way to overcome it.
That's what they did this week in the Western Sun, coming from behind to win two games in their three-game sweep of Rochelle.
And that's what they did Saturday, turning a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth into a 6-5 win over Waubonsie Valley.
Brian Krolikowski scored the winning run. He doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh, took third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch.
"You hate to put your heart through that, but you need to win games like that," Batavia coach Matt Holm said. "Last year we lost quite a few like that. It was a great opportunity to come back and do that, and of course your confidence level rises when you win games like that."
Batavia (6-4) drew three walks in the first inning but ran itself out of a run. Waubonsie Valley (1-5) didn't get a hit through three innings against Batavia starter Henry DuQue, a foreign exchange student from Venezuela.
The Warriors scored three runs in the fourth, with Ryne Gill's two-out, 2-run single the big blow.
In the fifth, Batavia left the bases loaded with no outs. The final two outs came on appealed third strikes, both times the call going against Batavia that its batter had gone too far.
"Being down 3-0 we knew could fight back," Batavia catcher Ryan Welter said. "After those two bad calls we knew we could come out and get them. It was a great team effort."
Krolikowski started Batavia' 5-run sixth with a walk. Adam Karger singled, and both scored on DuQue's rocket 2-run double to deep center.
Welter's single plated the tying run, then pinch runner Matt Taylor scored the go-ahead run when Waubonsie Valley dropped a third strike, allowing Tim Schofield to reach. Joe Aguilar capped the rally with a sacrifice fly.
Down 5-3 with two outs and nobody on in the seventh against Kevin Flinn (1-1), the Warriors responded. Two walks and an infield single loaded the bases, then cleanup hitter Kevin Kirchner delivered a single to left field to drive in 2 runs and tie the game at 5.
"That (seventh-inning rally) was the positive of the game," said Waubonsie Valley coach Dan Fezzuoglio, who also praised Danny Walker's effort in his first start of the year.
"That is one thing about this team is there's no quit. But there's a reason we are 1-5 right now, and the reason is we have mental breakdowns in games, if it's an error or wild pitch or passed ball or not throwing the big pitch when we need it. That's the difference between us being 4-2. We know we are a good team. We have to keep working and plugging away."
Batavia received more good news in the JV game afterward when Jordan Coffey threw his first inning of the year. His brother Jesse, returning from a shoulder injury, also played.
Jordan Coffey threw 26 pitches, 19 for strikes. Holm hopes Coffey can pitch 2 innings Thursday against DeKalb.
With Karger back and Coffey on his way to join Krolikowski, the Bulldogs rotation is taking shape. And then there's DuQue coming on strong while he enjoys his move to Batavia. Everything, he said, except for "the cold."
"I was just trying to get out everyone, getting grounders or pop-ups," said DuQue. "The team was working good. We are always pumped to win."