Neuqua Valley defense up to the challenge
On a cool Saturday morning with the breeze blowing in, Naperville Central tried to use its speed to produce a run or two when hits were hard to come by against Neuqua Valley.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the Wildcats’ defense was ready, willing and able to gun down a pair of runners at third base in the sixth inning of a 1-0 ballgame. The missed opportunities in the bottom of that sixth inning led to Neuqua’s quick 1-0 triumph behind starter Max Biedrzycki, who tossed four hitless innings while improving to 1-0 on the spring.
The Wildcats (3-3), who returned Friday night from a spring trip to Tennessee where they played some top-notch competition, scored the game’s only run when an error and a pair of two-out walks allowed Brett Marsalli to score in the top of the third off of Redhawks starter Jimmy Nashert (0-1). From there it was all pitching and defense, as Naperville Central (2-3) went hitless for five innings before delivering three singles in the sixth and a lead-off single in the seventh, but without managing to tally an equalizer.
“We got very lucky, I thought,” Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner said. “They tried to take an extra base and we were able to throw them out. In a game like that something has got to go your way and it went our way.”
Nashert retired the first seven Wildcats he faced, four via strikeouts, including all three batters in the second. But Marsalli reached on a one-out bloop single and when Jeff Evak attempted a sacrifice bunt, Evak reached safely on an error at first base that eventually led to an unearned run. Nashert recorded a big second out with his fifth strikeout, but when he walked Tanner Giesel and then Dylan Gross on a 3-2 count, the game’s only run came home.
Biedrzycki and Jon Vlk, meanwhile, held the Redhawks hitless for five innings before the home team showed a little offense against reliever David Gerber in the sixth.
Nick Ryan opened the sixth with a single to center before he was forced out at second on an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt attempt. With speedy pinch runner Blake Butler on first with one out, Nashert beat out a grounder to third, but Butler was gunned down trying to advance from first to third on the play. Brian Scheimann then lined a single to left field for the team’s third hit of the inning, but with Ian Lewandowski at the plate, Nashert was out at third trying to advance on a pitch that got away from Gross behind the plate.
“We are preaching we want to be aggressive,” said Redhawks coach Mike Stock, whose team knocked off top-ranked Lyons Twp. on Thursday. “We may get thrown out at third more times than ever before, but we want to put pressure on the other team. We’ll be fine. We just need to compete better at the plate.”