Aces duel to end as CL South nips Streamwood
It took an extra inning to decide a pitcher's duel between Streamwood ace Mike Diebold and Crystal Lake South ace Easton Kowalski Saturday.
Each starter lasted into the eighth inning, when the Gators finally solved Diebold with a 3-run outburst to prevail 5-2 in a nonconference game in Streamwood.
With one out in the top of the eighth, CL South senior Alex Macaulay worked the count full and blasted a solo home run off the scoreboard in center field that gave the Gators (2-2) a 3-2 lead. Junior Ryan Price ripped the next pitch for a solo home run to left and the Gators went on to tack on another marker, which was more cushion than Kowalski needed.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander, bound for the University of Illinois-Springfield, retired the Sabres (2-2) in order in the eighth to complete his gem. Kowalski tossed a 3-hit complete game in which he relied on his curveball to strike out 7 against 3 walks.
"I've been working my curveball since the summer and I have more confidence to throw it for strikes whatever the count, 3-2 or 0-0," Kowalski said. "When we got down 2-0 I had faith in my teammates. I told them once it was tied 2-2 to just get me 1 run and I wouldn't let them score again. And we won. It was big."
Diebold, a Trinity University recruit, fell to 0-2 on the young season despite 17 strikeouts in his first 2 starts. The senior right-hander allowed 10 hits in 7-plus innings, threw 105 pitches, struck out 7 and walked only 2 Gators.
"I just left a couple of balls up and they hit them at the right times," Diebold said.
Macaulay's home run was his first of the season. He hit 2 home runs as a junior.
"The count was 3-2, so I figured he didn't want to put me on," Macaulay said. "(Diebold) is a good pitcher and he was hitting his spots and not walking many. I was looking fastball all the way. The last couple of games we hadn't really gotten the bats going, so it was good we got it going in the last inning."
Junior right fielder Nick Pryor put Streamwood ahead 2-0 in the third inning, when he laced the first varsity pitch he saw this season for a 2-run homer to left.
Diebold made the lead stand up by retiring eight straight Gators until he walked leadoff man Billy Wright to open the sixth. Junior shortstop Chris Hauser followed with a double to the left-field corner, and an error on the relay throw allowed Wright to score. Macaulay doubled to the left-field corner one out later to knot the game at 2.
Kowalski kept the door shut on Streamwood, which was missing its starting third baseman and shortstop due to family obligations. After allowing the home run to Pryor in the third inning, Kowalski retired 16 of the next 18 Sabres to up his record to 2-1.
"If you don't hit, you're not going to win and that's what it came down to," Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said. "Besides the 2-run homer we didn't put to much else together and that makes it hard to win."