Lowden, South Elgin outduel Bartlett

Every at-bat, every sign given, every bunt attempted, every pitch in the dirt blocked - all the little things mattered in South Elgin's no-margin-for-error 1-0 victory over visiting Bartlett in Upstate Eight Conference baseball action Monday.

Runs were a scarce commodity in a tense pitching duel between Hawks senior Mike Tomsovic and Storm junior Kenny Lowden, right-handers who each went the distance.

Lowden won the staredown by not only shutting out Bartlett (6-8, 2-5) on 3 hits but by knocking in the only run of the game in the second inning. His single up the middle drove in Nathan Halas, who had doubled down the left-field line with two outs. But Lowden (2-1) drew more satisfaction from his mound effort.

"I pitched my game, didn't get wild or let (a lack) of confidence get to me," he said. "Just keep pitching, throwing strikes and getting guys out."

Lowden finished with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. He coaxed 8 groundball outs and 7 flyball outs to help South Elgin improve to 8-4 overall, 3-3 in the UEC.

"Kenny Lowden came up with a big pitching display for us today," Storm coach Jim Kating said. "We needed a stop, and he went up on the mound and gave a great performance. So did their kid, Tomsovic. He did a great job, too. They threw strikes and got after it."

Tomsovic (0-2) was the hard-luck loser. He allowed 7 hits, fanned five, walked one and lowered his ERA to 1.08 in 13 innings. He kept the game close by stranding South Elgin runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings.

John Menken of the Storm reached third base with no outs in the sixth inning on a single, an outfield error and a stolen base, but Tomsovic sandwiched a pair of groundouts around a strikeout to keep it a 1-run game heading to Bartlett's last at-bat.

"This was my second start of the season and I felt like did well for that," Tomsovic said. "They just got that basehit right on the line and one up the middle, and that's how they scored. Other than that I felt like I was throwing strong. The curveball felt good today. It's just disappointing with them getting more runs."

The Hawks had two runners aboard in the first inning with one out, but Lowden induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. Bartlett had a runner on first base with one out in the sixth, but South Elgin catcher Kyle Kinyon threw the baserunner out at second after scrambling to gather a wild pitch that had bounced feet away from the plate.

"The key word is execution," Bartlett coach Russ Lorenz said of being shut out. "Not getting the (sacrifice) bunt down, not getting the hit-and-run executed, moving runners over and getting them in. We can't just sit back and wait for the long ball, and it seems like that's what everybody wants to do. We really have to play small ball and execute."

Lowden retired Bartlett's Nos. 5-6-7 hitters in order in the seventh. The teams complete the 2-game series in Bartlett today at 4:30 p.m.