Ross, Jacobs nip Dundee-Crown

Jacobs junior pitcher Joe Ross is one of those happy surprises, a player not expected to contribute very much at the start of the season only to emerge as a key performer.

The 6-foot-2 left-hander figured he'd see some innings on the mound this season as a reliever and gain some playing time as a fourth outfielder. But when other Jacobs starting pitchers faltered early in the season, Ross made the most of his chance to crack the rotation. Now - surprise! - he's a mainstay.

Helped by some timely hitting and clutch relief pitching from Danny Paitl and Greg Leasure, Ross ran his record to 6-0 as Jacobs came back to nip District 300 rival Dundee-Crown 6-5 in the opener of a 2-game Fox Valley Conference (Valley Division) series in Algonquin Saturday.

"We threw him out there for a game and he did what we asked," Jacobs coach Eric Sanders said of Ross. "It's kind of snowballed from there."

"You have to make the best of your opportunities," said Ross, who used a two-seam fastball and backdoor curve to hold the Chargers to 4 earned runs in 51/3 innings. "I just do what I can do and pitch my game."

Dundee-Crown (10-18-1, 7-12) scored 3 runs on 3 hits and a Jacobs error in the top of the fourth inning to grab a 4-2 lead against Ross. The key blow was a run-scoring double by junior Chris Lamprecht, who made up for failing to get a sacrifice bunt down on the first two pitches.

Jacobs (15-13-1, 9-10) struck back immediately with a 4-run fourth. Leasure was hit by a pitch from D-C starter Mike Lodi (4-4), a transfer from Jacobs, to open the inning. After Bobby Gross doubled off the third baseman's glove to put the tying runs at second and third, No. 9 hitter Anthony Virgilio lined a 1-0 fastball to the gap in right-center field to tie the game, 4-4.

"I was getting behind on batters so I was just trying to throw a strike, and he took it the opposite way," Lodi said.

"Moving down to ninth I knew I was going to see a lot of fastballs, which are always nice to see," Virgilio said. "I just wanted to be patient. I took the first one in the dirt, then got a fastball to hit and took it to right field."

Josh Kranz then lined a two-out double to right center to give Jacobs a 1-run lead, and Matt Schmidt's single to right field scored Kranz to make it 6-4.

Paitl relieved Ross with one out in the fifth after D-C junior Cory Volberding's double put the tying runs in scoring position. One inherited runner scored on a groundout by Scott Nowicke and Paitl walked Jake Romano.

But Paitl, normally a three-quarters sidearmer, used a full submarine delivery to strike out No. 3 hitter Nick Spagnola and preserve the 6-5 lead.

"I've been mixing it in lately," Paitl said of the submarine pitch. "I've been working on it in the bullpen, trying to get it down, and I feel like I've got pretty good command of it now. I can go to it when I need it as an out pitch."

A Jacobs throwing error allowed the tying run to reach with one out in the seventh against Leasure, and Steve Schwartz's running bunt moved the tying run into scoring position. However, Leasure induced groundouts to second and first to earn his first save.

"That's been our story for the last two weeks," Chargers coach Jon Sawyer said. "We get in situations with the right people at the plate, but we just can't get the big hit in the right situations."

The teams will complete the series in Carpentersville on Monday at 4:30 p.m.