Crystal Lake South upends Streamwood
The Crystal Lake South baseball team didn’t hit the ball very hard Saturday, but small ball was working.
The Gators scored 4 times in the top of the fourth inning, laying down four bunts in the inning, to beat host Streamwood, 4-1, in nonconference play.
“We work a lot on bunting. That’s part of our game,” Gators coach Brian Bogda said. “We have some speed. We have guys who can control the bat.”
The game was scoreless heading into the fourth. Max Meitzler led off the fourth with a single to center for the Gators (4-2). Will Ashmann was trying to sacrifice pinch-runner Jordan Ross to second, but an error allowed both runners to be safe. Tyler Salm followed with his second bunt single of the game to load the bases.
Nick Martin drove in Ross on a groundout to second. Nick Severino then had the hardest hit ball of the game, a double to the gap in right center, bringing in Ashmann and Salm for a 3-0 lead. Jake Bigos had a bunt single to put runners on first and third with one out. Bigos stole second. Tommy Gaede laid down a squeeze bunt to score Severino. Bigos was thrown out at the plate after Gaede was out at first.
“One big inning, and you know what they say in baseball, you have to stay out of the big inning to win,” Streamwood coach Steve Diversey said. “They took advantage of elements. Wet ball, wet grass. Put the timely bunt down.”
The four runs were all Jordan Van Dyck would need. The CL South senior earned his second victory, going 5 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run.
The lone run for Streamwood (3-2) came in the sixth. Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle led off with a double to left field. Two groundouts, the final one by Alex Morrow, brouigh Larkin-Guilfoyle home to cut the deficit to 4-1. After a hit batter and a walk, Van Dyck was pulled for Eric Humpa. Humpa got a groundball back to the mound to end the sixth and struck out two in the seventh to earn his second save.
“I tried to locate my pitches and keep them off balance,” said Van Dyck, who walked 4 and struck out 2. “Let my defense do the work.”
The Sabres had chances to take the lead in the first and second innings. A two-base error allowed Brent Kiesel to reach to lead off the bottom of the first. A sacrifice from Dalton Lundeen, who suffered the loss on the mound, got Kiesel to third with one out. A groundout to third and fly out to left field ended the threat. In the second, the Sabres had the bases loaded with two outs, but a fly out to right ended the inning.
“That’s been our M.O. in the first five games, leaving too many guys on base,” Diversey said. “Once we figure out how to get that one extra hit to drive some of those runs in, things will turn around for us.”