Pirates' win extra special

Just when it was beginning to get cold and late, Palatine came through Monday against host Fremd.

With the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Pirates' relief pitcher Alex Foley was able to induce a double play, stopping a Fremd rally. The end to the inning energized the Palatine bench, and the Pirates (15-12, 8-4) were able to score three times in the top of the ninth for a 5-2 victory which extended their winning streak to 11 games.

Palatine also won its eighth straight MSL game to move into a first-place tie in the West with Fremd (14-9, 8-4) and Conant (16-8, 8-4), which lost 3-2 to Schaumburg.

"These kids have been playing with a lot of confidence, and competing at competitive times," Palatine coach Paul Bello said. "I'm just really proud of the way they stepped up."

With two outs in the top of the ninth, sophomore Jimmy Smearman singled to right field, a great throw from Fremd's Zenon Kolakowski nearly got Trey Cannon at home plate, but the ball skipped away from catcher Tyler Gregory and the go-ahead run scored for Palatine.

"I was looking to find a pitch to hit and hit it to the right side to score the runner from second," Smearman said. "It worked out. It was a great win for us."

Bello called the double play in the eighth, "tremendous" for Palatine, and Smearman agreed.

"It was definitely a momentum changer," Smearman said. "It brought a lot of energy to the dugout and the game went from there."

Fremd (14-9, 8-4) had chances to do some damage in the second and third innings, but left a combined five runners on base without scoring.

"I thought it was a well-pitched game on both sides," Fremd coach Chris Piggott said. "They made the plays when it mattered and we didn't."

Vikings' pitcher Jake Llanas pitched 4 strong innings in relief of sophomore starter Joe Leaf, who departed with a sore elbow, but was unable to shut the Pirates down in the ninth. Llanas allowed just 2 Palatine hits from the fifth through the eighth innings.

"He did a great job," Piggott said of Llanas. "He's done a great job all year out of the bullpen and is somebody we have confidence in."

Palatine starting pitcher Dan Huenecke allowed 2 runs over seven strong innings, but was unable to earn the victory despite his fine performance. His only real mistake was a pitch that caught too much of the plate in the sixth inning and resulted in a tying home run by Gregory.

"I just went out there and threw strikes, got people out and let the defense behind me do the work," Huenecke said.

The Pirates allowed 2 runs or less for the sixth time in their run into the West race.

"The team's just been on a roll," Huenecke said. "We've had some clutch hitting, good pitching, great defense. Everything has just come together, and we've just been on a roll because everything is where it should have been at the beginning of the year. It took some time to put it together, and we finally did."