St. Charles E. bounces Larkin twice
Fastball, curve, change up and slider.
St. Charles East senior Luke Ludke mastered all his pitches in hurling the Saints to a 3-1 Upstate Eight River win over Larkin in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Elgin Saturday morning.
The Saints then won the nightcap 8-3 to conclude the sweep.
Ludke, who pitched to contact during his 7-inning complete game effort, struck out 3 without allowing a walk. The lanky right-hander, who hit a batter, allowed 1 run on 7 singles. He was also aided by two crucial double plays.
“My defense was great,” said Ludke. “The two double plays were huge. The defense made big play after big play. Larkin had a very good hitting team and it was a good thing all my pitches were really working.”
St. Charles East coach Len Asquini was impressed with Ludke’s effort.
“Luke was wonderful,”said Asquini. “He pitched a great game. He was around the plate, threw all his pitches for strikes and got out of some tough jams. Our defense behind him was outstanding. The double plays were crucial. It is always nice to get those 2 for 1 sales with the double play.”
Larkin (8-17, 5-12) received an outstanding effort on the mound by sophomore Brayden Royse. Royse, who blanked the Saints (18-7, 15-3) for 6 of the 7 innings, allowed all 3 runs in the third. Joe Hoscheit collected a 2-run single while Jordan Hayes delivered a run-scoring single. Royse allowed 3 runs on 8 singles while striking out 4 with 1 walk. The sophomore also hit a batter.
“Brayden showed a lot of poise for a sophomore and pitched a great game,” said Larkin coach Matt Esterino. “He had one bad inning and that cost us.
The Royals, who left 6 runners on base, scored their only run off Ludke in the fifth on an RBI single by Austin Royse.
“We certainly had our opportunities to score and couldn’t get the clutch hit,” said Esterino. “This was a very winnable game. We respect St. Charles East, but we play to win and we are not into moral victories.”
Hoscheit powered the Saints’ offense with 2 hits and 2 RBI.
“The Larkin kid pitched a great game,” said Asquini. “I thought we could have scored some more runs. Our situational hitting could have been better.”
Austin Royse, the No. 9 hitter in the Larkin lineup, was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
In Game 2, Nick Huskisson tossed a 3-hitter and had a double for the Saints. Wiliam Rodriguez had an RBI double for Larkin and Chris Guzeman took the loss.