Palatine starts perfectly

Palatine has produced the perfect early answer to how it is handling its defense of the Cook County American Legion baseball title.

The Blue Jays won their first nine games and went 6-0 last weekend to win the Wheaton Tournament.

“It’s been amazing,” said Palatine coach Jeff Ryder. “It’s probably one of the better starts we’ve had. The boys are really stepping up right now.

“The pitching has been almost perfect and the defense has been real solid.”

On Sunday’s final day of the tournament, Palatine beat teams that ended its last two seasons. In the championship it won 8-4 over the Midland (Mich.) team that knocked it out of the 2009 Great Lakes Regional and went on to win the national title.

The Blue Jays used a 6-run sixth inning to wipe out a 4-2 deficit as Clint Herdegen went 3-for-4, Erik Smoy and Jack Andersen had 2 hits and 2 RBI, Sean Stutzman had 2 hits and Lee Breitzman had 2 RBI. Mike Withey got the win with 3 innings of scoreless, 3-hit relief.

Palatine rallied in the semifinals to beat defending state champion Moline 4-3 on Trent Rehusch’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Rehusch also got the win with 2 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief.

“After we won the tourney I told the guys this was truly a total team effort,” Ryder said. “It would be an injustice to single one guy out. Every single player on this team stepped up when called and got it done more than just one time.”

Palatine was a strike away from losing to St. Charles but rallied to win 6-5. Kole Luthringshausen singled with two outs and two strikes in the seventh, Zach Kolakowski followed with an RBI double and he scored on Rehusch’s single.

Jack Andersen hit a 3-run homer and also had the only hit and drove in the only run in a 1-0 win over Kenosha that was called after 5 innings because of darkness. Breitzman scattered 5 hits with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk for the win.

Joe Leaf improved to 2-0 as Smoy, Stutzman and Andersen had 3 RBI each and Richard Concialdi had 3 hits in a 13-2 rout of Ida (Mich.) in 5 innings. And Anthony Quagliano needed only 71 pitches (54 strikes) to throw a 5-hitter with 4 strikeouts and no walks in a 5-0 win over Joliet.

“They’ve all come together and they’re getting the job done,” said Ryder, whose team is idle this weekend after facing Arlington on Thursday night. “So far from what I’ve seen this team doesn’t let up.”

Arlington cooled off the Blue Jays on Thursday night, scoring 8 runs in the sixth inning on the way to an 11-5 victory

Palatine meets Arlington again at Rec Park at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Arlington makes its pitch: Arlington coach Lloyd Meyer couldn’t fault his pitching as it went 3-2 in the Wheaton tournament and was 5-2 overall going into Thursday night’s game with Palatine.

“We played pretty well and I was pleased with the pitching,” Meyer said. “It will keep us in games.”

Kurt Donner needed only 65 pitches in a complete-game win over Albuquerque (N.M.) and Meyer said Andrew Van Wazer, Matt Hendricks, Mike Reed, Jack Mullenix and Pat Nix all looked good.

Cory Kay had a solid tournament with the bat and Dan Hendricks had 4 hits in two games.

“Everybody hit pretty good and I was pleased with our hitting,” Meyer said. “Defensively we have to get better and our organization has to get better.”

Arlington opens play in the Barrington tournament at 3:30 p.m. today against Lake Zurich and Saturday it faces Bristol (Ind.) at 11:30 a.m. and Barrington at 2 p.m.

Walk on the painful side: Elk Grove had a nice-looking start to the Wheaton tourney as it beat Northbrook 8-5 and had a 3-run lead on Galesburg in the sixth inning. But a botched double-play ball led to a 5-4 loss in 8 innings and started a stunning streak of four straight walk off losses.

“By the last game Sunday it was like we were expecting it to happen,” said Elk Grove coach Brian Mucha. “That’s the way our weekend was going.

“We’re not looking for moral victories. We have to get it done and we didn’t.”

The encouraging sign was the pitching even though Paul Warble was unavailable because of a vacation and Aaron Wright had shoulder trouble.

Mucha was impressed with what he saw from Kyle Pollock as he went the distance in his first start to beat Northbrook. Ryan Hayes pitched well against Galesburg

Art Sutter went all 9 innings of a 1-0 loss to Midland (Mich.) that featured some spectacular defense at third base by Nick Fillmore.

“Sutter was phenomenal,” Mucha said.

Roger Lane and Matt Moran also gave Elk Grove chances to win that slipped away.

“It’s only going to help us out,” said Mucha, whose team is off this weekend. “Every game felt like a Cook County championship-type of game.”

Elk Grove also added Cosimo Cannella, an all-area senior-to-be first baseman at St. Viator, to its roster.

Dept. of corrections: The Mount Prospect’s pitcher-outfielder who joined the team and is a home-schooled student is John Zopko.