Wheaton North puts it all together
Baseball coaches have oft repeated that pitching and defense win games.
A little offense never hurts, though.
Wheaton North belted out 11 hits and got a strong 3-hit performance from starting pitcher Ed Norris en route to an 11-1 win in 5 innings over host West Chicago on Monday afternoon. It was the Falcons’ sixth win in their last seven games.
“It’s easy to pitch when you have good hitting. You’re able to relax and settle down,” said Norris, who went the distance and struck out five. He allowed just one base runner during the first three innings and had a no-hitter going until the fourth.
“Ed is always in the zone,” said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling. “He’s always throwing strikes and he makes it easy to play defense. He works fast and throws strikes.”
Wheaton (10-6, 4-0 DuPage Valley Conference) wasted no time with the bats. Leadoff hitter Ryan Kent walked in the first and with one out Jake Schieber singled to left.
That set the stage for John Peltz. He went to 3-2 before blasting his first homer of the season, a 350-foot shot over the center field fence.
“The offense is definitely coming alive. One through nine, everyone feels that they can all hit,” Peltz said.
Peltz reached base three more times, including on an RBI base hit in the fourth and a 2-run double in the fifth. Kent finished the afternoon 3-for-3.
Wheaton led 5-0 after two innings, with an RBI double by Kevin Fahy being the key hit, and 7-0 after four. Ryan Jordan’s RBI double was the second run-producing hit that inning.
Norris helped his caused in the fifth with a double to center; he scored the second of 4 runs that inning.
“We’re having fun. We have real good chemistry. We help each other and stay positive,” Norris said.
West Chicago fell to 5-12, 0-4 with the defeat.
The Wildcats’ first base runner didn’t come until the third inning when Sean Elfstrom walked. In the fourth, Ryan Koester reached on a fielding error, Nick Driscoll was hit by a pitch and Mike Zajack got his team’s first base hit. Zach Bauler reached on a fielder’s choice, but West Chicago couldn’t plate any of them.
The Wildcats finally reached the scoreboard in the fifth. Elfstrom walked again and moved to third on Alec Strachota’s single to right. Koester’s sacrifice fly scored Elfstrom.
“We need to find a way to turn the corner,” said West Chicago coach Dan McCarthy. “We’re in a dogfight right now trying to regain our confidence. And to get confidence, good things have to happen.”
The teams meet again at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wheaton.