Fowkes delivers as Libertyville rallies for win
The pressure was on as Brandon Fowkes prepared to head to the batter's box.
And then it was off. Just like that.
It was a laughable moment for the Libertyville centerfielder Friday afternoon when his teammate, pitcher Mark Boyle, accidentally misidentified him over the loudspeaker.
Boyle, who is out of commission while nursing a sprained ankle, was handling announcing duties for the Wildcats' big showdown against North Suburban Lake Division rival Stevenson.
Even though it was Fowkes' turn to bat with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Boyle accidentally announced that the new batter was Josh Prochotsky, who was actually supposed to bat after Fowkes.
"I think that just relaxed me a little bit," Fowkes said with a laugh. "It was all good. It was kind of funny and I think that kept me loose."
But not too loose-y goose-y.
Fowkes buttoned down long enough to rip a single into left field that brought in Nate Clark and gave Libertyville a dramatic, come-from-behind 6-5 victory.
The Wildcats move to 5-3 overall while Stevenson drops its first game of the season in six attempts.
Fowkes also came through in Libertyville's pivotal sixth inning. With the Wildcats trailing 5-1, Fowkes played a key role in a 4-run rally that tied the game at 5-5. He brought in 2 runs with a double into left centerfield.
"Over the summer I had a game-winning hit," said Fowkes, when asked if he had ever before drove in the game-winning run. "I just thought about that. I was like, 'Hey, I've been here before. I know what it feels like, I know what I've got to do.'
"I just squared up on it and put it in play. Then you're like, 'Alright, we got a win.' That's always a great feeling."
Fowkes' heroics were magnified by the fact that both of his big hits - the double in the sixth and the game-winning single in the eighth - came with two strikes.
Ironically, Libertyville's rally in the sixth mirrored that same kind of do-or-die scenario.
The Wildcats scored all four of their runs in the inning with two outs already on the board.
Sophomore pitcher Dar Townsend, who entered in relief of starter Joey Eichmann in the sixth inning and ultimately earned the win, started the offensive barrage by getting a single. Then Chad Uhler drilled a double, followed by singles by Brad Martin and Nate Clark.
Fowkes then brought in Martin and Clark with his double that was nearly caught by a diving Corey Lasky, Stevenson's centerfielder.
"A lot of resiliency and wherewithal from these guys," Libertyville coach Jim Schurr summed. "Two big hits by Brandon and then the other big one was Dar Townsend. He got everything going for us with two outs in the sixth. Then, he pitched a gem. Every pitch I called and every location I called, he hit every spot.
"That's why you don't really see any hits for (Stevenson) in the last two innings."
The Patriots got only 1 hit over the final two innings, but had already cooled off significantly compared to the very beginning of the game.
In the first inning alone, the Patriots strung together 4 runs on 5 hits, advancing runners on singles.
They also took advantage of a Libertyville error.
The Wildcats answered in the bottom of the first when leadoff hitter Tyler Schweigert smacked a home run, but then Stevenson regained the momentum by scoring another run in the second inning.
Patrick Wilson, who drove in 2 runs in Stevenson's big first inning, came up big again by driving in the run in the second inning as well.
"What did us in was not getting key at-bats like that in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings," Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca said. "We kind of took the foot off the gas pedal after the second inning.
"It's a shame. They played a better complete game than we did. They deserve it."