Strong-armed Jacobs blanks Dundee-Crown
Strong pitching has been the key to a successful season for the Jacobs baseball team, and that trait was on display once again in a 5-0 victory over District 300 rival Dundee-Crown in Carpentersville Wednesday.
Two days after the Golden Eagles uncharacteristically allowed the Chargers 12 runs on 17 hits yet won 19-12, junior left-hander Max Rider and relievers Greg Mixon and Zac Camacho combined for a 4-hit shutout to complete the season sweep. It was the staff’s sixth shutout of the season and it marked the 12th time Jacobs held an opponent to 2 runs or less.
“It was good to hold them to no runs after 12 last game,” said Rider, who relied on his two-seam fastball, changeup and the occasional curveball to hold D-C to 4 hits in 5 innings. “The defense tightened up and we played well. I just wanted to throw strikes, hit the corners, hit my spots and let them hit the ball.”
The victory in the Fox Valley Conference finale elevated Jacobs to 18-14, 12-7, good for a fourth-place finish in the competitive Valley Division. Dundee-Crown dipped to 8-19-1, 5-14.
The Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead when a first-inning throwing error by D-C allowed an unearned run to score from third base.
However, playing on Senior Day with a starting lineup of seniors only, the Chargers stayed in the game behind right-hander Erik Brewer and some good defense.
D-C kept Jacobs from extending its lead in the fourth inning, thanks to the strong arm of Miami (Ohio)-bound center fielder Jake Romano. Connor Conzelman tried to score from third base on a flyball to center field by Greg Sidor with no outs, but Romano launched a perfect throw to the plate on the fly, and catcher Max Schell applied the tag to keep it a 1-0 game.
“I was just trying to get something going for the team,” Romano said. “It didn’t work, but we tried. I was telling people in the outfield before the play what to do on a groundball or a flyball. It happened to go my way and I did the job.”
Jacobs broke through offensively in the top of the fifth. The Golden Eagles batted around and scored 4 runs on 3 hits, an error, a walk and a hit batsman. Kenny Finn drew a bases-loaded walk and Camacho lined a two-out, 2-run single up the middle to make it 5-0.
Unlike Monday when the hits came easily, D-C could not manage a knock against Mixon in the sixth or Camacho in the seventh.
“That’s high school baseball,” D-C coach Tommy Parisi said. “One day it feels like you’re hitting a beach ball. The next day it’s a ping-pong ball. But it was a special night for our seniors. They worked hard and put four years into this program, so they deserved a night to be recognized and get some playing time.”
Dundee-Crown faces Big Northern East co-champion Burlington Central on Friday, its final preparation before hosting Rockford Jefferson in a Class 4A regional play-in game on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
The Golden Eagles complete the regular season with a nonconference game at Lake Zurich on Monday before they open regional play against host Huntley next Thursday at 4 p.m.