Wiebe, Saints mow down St. Charles North
A left-hander takes the hill at St. Charles North, throws first-pitch strikes, works quickly, keeps his defense on its toes behind him and - most importantly - wins the game.
It might sound an awful lot like North Stars ace Zach Hirsch, only on Tuesday it was St. Charles East's Kyle Wiebe.
The senior got the Saints off to a great start in their three-game series against St. Charles North, tossing a 2-hit shutout in St. Charles East's 8-0 victory.
St. Charles East (8-10, 6-5) won for the fourth time in five games while St. Charles North (9-9, 5-6) lost its sixth straight.
"It was a complete ballgame today," St. Charles East coach Mark Foulkes said. "Kyle Wiebe pitched his best game of the year. I tip my hat to Kyle. Coming into the year we expected Klye to be one of our top two and he pitched like it today."
Wiebe, who lost to Hirsch a year ago in this series, improved to 2-4 after allowing just an infield single to K.C. Wright leading off the game and Colin O'Carroll's third-inning double.
Wiebe retired 10 straight after that double until walking his first batter of the game with one out in the seventh. He finished with four strikeouts, including two in the seventh, while throwing 63 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
"Everything seemed to work for me," Wiebe said. "It was the best velocity I have had all year. I just tried to hit my spots and change speeds."
The Saints played flawless defense behind Wiebe, committing no errors and getting some snappy glove work from second baseman Johnathan Erickson, shortstop Zach Scott and first baseman Frankie Hondlik running down several pop-ups.
"They played great," Wiebe said. "We need solid defense and that's what we did."
Scott said it was easier in the field with Wiebe so efficient on the mound. After throwing 35 pitches the first two innings, Wiebe really found his groove in the middle of the game with 10-, 13-, 10- and 7-pitch innings.
"It felt like everything was flowing today," Scott said. "There were no long innings on the field which is new for us. He threw strikes and kept everyone involved in the game."
Scott, the Saints' No. 3 hitter, also supplied much of his team's 13-hit attack going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Hitting .236 entering the game, Scott boosted his average to .271.
"He's just got to relax," Foulkes said. "He's a great hitter. We knew he had it in him. Biggest game of year so far for us he really showed it."
Cleanup hitter Tom Konrad followed Scott in the order going 4-for-4, and Erickson had a pair of hits in the No. 5 spot, leaving the middle of the Saints' order at 9-for-12.
"I'm seeing the ball and just hitting it out there, doing what I can," Konrad said. "I'm not trying to do too much, just get base hits."
Ryan Sotern also went 2-for-4.
Austin Schuetz (0-1) took the loss for the North Stars, pitching 2 innings. Only 1 of the 3 runs he allowed was earned.
"We're in a slump," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. "We have to have guys come up and make a play. I'm seeing guys have a hard time at the plate and taking to the field. We can't have that."
The Saints scored once in the second on Wiebe's RBI double - their only extra-base hit of the day - before breaking the game open with 3 runs in the third and 4 in the sixth. Scott's 2-run single was the big blow in the sixth.
The North Stars will send Ryan Hudspeth to the mound today at St. Charles East hoping to end their losing streak and even the series. Thursday's finale is at Elfstrom Stadium.
"I still think we have a championship caliber team," Genke said. "I believe in these kids. I see some self doubt in their eyes and that has to change. That's on me. In tough times we need to come together as a team. We still have 16 games to play, plenty of season left. We are going to right the ship."