Kaneland slugs its way past Burlington C.
Burlington Central started out hot. The Rockets scored 4 times in the first two innings to take an early lead against Kaneland. Then, the Knights' bats got hot while the Rockets' cooled off.
Kaneland scored 12 times from the third through sixth innings to defeat the Rockets, 12-6, in nonconference baseball action on Rocket Hill Thursday.
The middle of the Knights' order did most of the damage. The 3-4-5 combo of Quinn Buschbacher, Trever Heinle, and Tom Fox was a combined 7-for-13 with 9 RBI. Buschbacher and Fox each swatted 3-run homers. Right fielder Jacob Razo reached base 5 times on 2 hits and 3 walks.
Not that the Knights needed much help, but Rocket pitchers gave them plenty with 8 walks and a hit batter. Central also committed 4 errors.
The Rocket pitchers frequently fell behind in the count and the Knights took advantage.
“We just didn't control the strike zone very well on the mound,” said Central coach Kyle Nelson. “We put them in a lot of hitters counts and when you do that, teams are going to put the ball in play. Teams that can swing a little bit are going to make you pay for that and they did that.”
The Knights bounced back from a season-opening loss.
“We came out real timid the other day against Plainfield,” said Kaneland coach Brian Aversa. “We talked about before the game, ‘Hey, we need to have a chip on our shoulder. Teams need to start fearing us a little bit more.' ”
The Rockets (2-1) took an early lead on a 2-run triple by Tanner Scott, an RBI single by Ray Hunnicutt and a solo homer by Zach Ranney. After that, Kaneland starter John Hopkins settled down. He held the Rockets to one more hit before giving way to Matt Linbrunner in the fifth.
Meanwhile, the Knights got to Central's Alex Bell who, like Hopkins, was making his first varsity start. Buschbacher's line shot to left made it 4-3 in the third.
The Knights took the lead for good in the fourth. After Bell got 2 quick outs, the Knights coaxed a pair of walks. Razo's two-run single put Kaneland ahead, and hits by Buschbacher and Heinle drove in 2 more.
“We figured that the second time around (the lineup), we know what's coming,” said Buschbacher. “Guys were talking in the dugout, seeing what (the pitches) look like, and we just got confident at the plate.”
Kaneland padded the lead with a single run in the fifth and 4 more in the sixth. Fox's shot over the left-field wall was the big blow there.
The Rockets got 2 back on Scott's homer in the seventh, but Linbrunner slammed the door after that.
The top of the order did most of the damage for the Rockets. Ranney went 4-for-4 while Scott finished with 7 total bases and 4 RBI.