Berndt, Blunk help Jacobs top Grayslake N.
With the cold and windy conditions, it is hard for high school athletes to stay warm and be prepared to play when called upon.
Jacobs junior Jon Berndt didn’t have any problems..
Coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, Berndt delivered an RBI single that gave Jacobs the lead for good, 2-1 and propelled the Golden Eagles to a 4-2 win over Grayslake North in Fox Valley Conference baseball action in Algonquin Friday afternoon.
“Coach (Jamie) Murray always tells the players who aren’t starting to be ready to play in the field or pinch hit,” said Berndt. “I just tried to stay warm, stay loose and stretch between innings. ”
Murray was impressed with Berndt’s plate appearance.
We play as many as 18 players in a game and we tell the kids to be ready to come in the game,” said Murray. “Jon was ready to play and had a quality at-bat.”
Berndt scored later in the fifth on am RBI double by Mark Self to give the Golden Eagles (11-6, 6-1) a 3-1 advantage.
Grayslake North (7-10, 2-5) cut the Jacobs deficit in half with a run in the sixth on an infield RBI groundout by Carl Russell to make the score 3-2.
Jacobs grabbed a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run.
Evan Blunk, who picked up the win for Jacobs, was stellar on the mound. The junior right-hander, who pitched 61⁄3 innings, struck out 4 without allowing a walk. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits.
“I tried to stay warm and loose between innings,” said Blunk. “I wanted to keep the ball low and I felt strong the entire game.”
Zac Camacho recorded the final 2 outs for Jacobs to register a save including the final out, a strikeout of Drake Davis.
“Our pitching today was awesome,” said Murray. “Evan was awesome today and he has been a pleasant surprise. Zac is a bulldog when he comes in the game and he has accepted his role as a closer.”
Tom Elias was the hard-luck loser for the Knights. He gave up 4 runs, 2 earned on 6 hits. The senior right-hander struck out 6 without allowing a walk. Grayslake North was hurt by 4 errors.
“Tommy pitched a great game,” said Grayslake North coach Jon Sawyer, the former Dundee-Crown coach. “We didn’t give him very much support. Our defense hurt us today. ”