Big fourth inning lifts St. Charles North past Plainfield
After averaging nearly 10 runs during their season-opening tournament title run at last week's Miners Spring Classic in downstate Marion, St. Charles North's baseball team looked to continue its offensive surge during Monday's home opener with Plainfield Central.
After spotting the Wildcats (4-3) an early 3-0 lead and falling behind 3-1 through the first 3 innings, the North Stars (6-0) displayed their high-octane attack during a 7-run fourth en route to a 9-4 nonconference triumph in a game that was called after 5 innings due to lightning/darkness.
St. Charles North sent 11 batters to the plate and chased Wildcats starting pitcher Jake Murphy (2-1) in the fourth, as the first six hitters all reached base and eventually scored.
Kevin Borst (2-for-2, double, RBI) got things started with a walk before Andrew Elliot lined a double over the head of left fielder Joe Sparacio to put runners on second and third.
Back-to-back RBI infield singles from designated hitter David Gow and Jake Bergren tied the game at 3-3, and senior Ryan Richardson's perfectly executed hit-and-run single through the vacated spot at shortstop put the North Stars on top 4-3.
Mike Budka smacked an RBI double just past the outstretched glove of Sparacio to make it 5-3. Chase Williams' two-out, 2-run single upped the lead to 7-3 before Borst's RBI double - in his second at-bat of the inning - made it 8-3.
"We're just being aggressive," Budka said of his team's hitting approach.
Midway through the fourth inning, all 9 St. Charles North starters had recorded base hits - and 7 finished with RBI.
"We've really been hitting the ball well," said North Stars coach Todd Genke. "Going the other way, hitting with two strikes, all of the things you want to see from your kids - we've been doing it.
"Hitting is contagious or at least it seems to be contagious."
So apparently is winning, although the North Stars committed 3 errors and fell behind early for the first time this season. Two of the Wildcats' 3 second-inning runs were scored as a result of wild pitches.
"(During) the first three innings we were definitely a little sluggish, a little slow," said Budka.
"I was a little disappointed with how we played the first couple innings," said Genke. "You try telling these kids that everybody wants to beat you and that they don't care what happened last week. But we got the bats rolling."
Right-hander Jared Shurtleff, who fanned 9 and allowed just 3 hits in 5 innings of work, picked up his second victory of the young season.
"He's got a couple nasty pitches that are tough to hit and also tough to catch," said Genke.
The win came at the expense of former North Stars varsity assistant coach Bob Dobbertin, who took over as Plainfield Central varsity head coach in 2008.
"There's a little history involved," admitted Dobbertin. "They've got some great hitters in that lineup. I coached almost every single kid out there."