Borst blows Waubonsie Valley away
Unlike much of Friday's Upstate Eight Conference battle between Waubonsie Valley and St. Charles North, there was absolutely nothing controversial about how hard -and how well - Kevin Borst threw the ball.
Making his first relief appearance of the year, Borst escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, then struck out the side in the seventh to earn his first win in the North Stars' come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
Coupled with Thursday's 4-2 triumph, St. Charles North (7-3, 3-0) won a pair of hard-fought games over Waubonsie Valley (2-7, 2-2) to enter next week's series against Neuqua Valley with momentum.
"I had a gut feeling Kevin would come in and compete," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "He was throwing the ball hard there at the end, throwing it by some of their middle of the lineup hitters."
Ryan Hudspeth pitched well for the North Stars in his second start of the year, allowing just a 2-run home run to Warriors cleanup hitter Kevin Kirchner.
Borst entered with his high leg kick and a fastball near 85, 86 miles an hour, according to Genke. Zach Hirsch made a smooth stab on a tricky grounder at first to leave the bases loaded in the fifth.
The only runner to reach against Borst (1-1) came on an error, one of four on the day for the North Stars. All four of Borst's strikeouts caught the Warriors looking, including Kirchner in the seventh.
"I didn't think he (Kirchner) could do it (homer) two times in a row and I'm a little faster (than Hudspeth) and I was feeling good so I thought I'd challenge him," Borst said. "This (win) is a great confidence booster."
St. Charles North scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a controversial play, one of many close calls Friday.
With one out and K.C. Wright on second base, Waubonsie Valley starter Kris Singh (1-2) got Matt Stevens to chase a low 2-strike pitch.
The Warriors thought Stevens got a piece of the ball for a foul tip and didn't chase the ball to the backstop. But the umpires eventually ruled Stevens swung and missed for strike three, and during all the confusion Wright alertly raced all the way around from second to score what proved to be the winning run.
"I hate it when two good teams are playing and officiating comes in a huge play like that," Waubonsie Valley coach Dan Fezzuoglio said. "It's just frustrating."
That call came after the Warriors twice thought they had thrown out North Stars on the bases earlier in the game. Both times the runner was called safe and led to a run scoring.
"I feel bad for Dan because their kids played hard," Genke said. "It's a game played by humans and umpired by humans and they can't always be correct."
Borst drove in the North Stars' first run with a double to the left center gap in the second. Kirchner's towering blast over the center field fence gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the third. Kirchner hit his first homer last week against St. Charles East.
The Warriors had one opportunity after another to extend their lead but stranded 10 runners, 9 in the first 5 innings. They also left 9 on base Thursday.
"The key thing for us was not getting the key hit," Fezzuoglio said. "That's where the game comes down to. We've got to move the ball in pressure situations and right now that's not happening. I commend the kids for competing and never giving up."
The North Stars tied the game 2-2 in the fourth when Mike Butka walked, took second on a groundout, stole third and scored on Hirsch's sacrifice fly.
The Warriors caught a bad break in the fifth. With Jonny Strauss at third base, Jeff Brown laid down a near perfect suicide squeeze, only to see the ball trickle foul at the last possible second. That was the same inning Borst eventually entered and got the North Stars out of without allowing the go-ahead run.
"Coming in like he did was pretty impressive," Genke said. "He's very capable and a big part of our team."
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