Glenbard South bats get busy
With an exclamation point, Glenbard South’s baseball team made sure the same mistake didn’t happen twice.
The Raiders broke out to a big first-inning lead on Fenton in Wednesday’s Metro Suburban Conference game in Glen Ellyn but, unlike Tuesday’s matchup, Glenbard South kept up the offensive pressure in the following innings.
The Raiders rolled to a 17-1 five-inning win to set up a chance at a three-game sweep Thursday night in Bensenville.
Tuesday’s game, however, wasn’t so smooth. After taking a 6-0 first-inning lead in that one, the Raiders (12-8, 9-2) withstood a Fenton rally and had to score a run in the bottom of the seventh to win 7-6.
“When you play teams and give them a chance to get confident, then they’ve got a chance to beat you,” said Raiders coach Mike Riley. “So we tell our kids that when they get up they’ve got to have that killer instinct and put them away.”
Glenbard South sent 13 batters to the plate while scoring 8 runs in the bottom of the first. The Raiders added 3 runs in the second and 6 runs in the fourth to seal the early ending.
Wednesday’s game marked the continuation of a team-wide hot streak at the plate for the Raiders, who have averaged nearly 12 runs in their last five games.
“Up and down the lineup everyone’s contributing,” said Glenbard South shortstop Zach Bava, who drove in 3 runs on Wednesday. “There’s not one weak spot in the lineup right now. It’s really been working well for us.”
Fenton (6-12, 4-6) scored its 2 runs in the top of the third on a pair of errors after Danny Diaz and Kyle Moriarty reached on singles. Brian Suffern improved to 6-1 on the season with his 5-inning effort.
Justin Joseph and Ethan Gasbarro, the top two hitters in the Raiders’ lineup, each had a pair of hits in the first inning and combined for 5 RBI on the day. Billy Strohl and Carl Sanders had 2 hits apiece, while pinch-hitter Danato Giuseffi added a 2-run double in the fourth inning.
“I think our problem is coming off the bus and not being ready to play, to be honest,” said Fenton coach Justin Moriarty. “We have a long way to go with our approach, and it’s not just pitching the ball, catching and throwing it. It’s a pitch-by-pitch thing, and we’ve just got to keep working at it.”