Elgin salvages Game 3 of Larkin series
Chris Edwards was going to make sure the Elgin baseball team was not getting swept by crosstown rival Larkin.
Edwards had 2 hits and drove in 3 runs in a 7-run third inning Thursday night to help the Maroons to an 8-0 victory over the Royals at Trout Park in the final game of the three-game Upstate Eight River series.
“This the biggest series of the year,” Edwards said. “We knew we had to come back. We couldn’t let them take us three games.”
After a pair of 1-run victories by the Royals (11-22, 8-17), the Maroons made sure there was no doubt about Thursday’s outcome.
Elgin (12-22, 6-19) scored once in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from Jake Bartelt. The Maroons exploded for 7 runs in the third. Bartelt doubled in Edwards. Ryan Sitter drove in two with a single to left. Kiko Mari’s infield single brought in Sitter. Two batters later with the bases loaded and two outs, Edwards cleared the bases with a triple to dead center for an 8-0 Elgin lead.
The Maroons were unable to get a clutch hit in Wednesday’s loss and left 13 runners on base. In the third inning Thursday, they went 6-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“We had a good aggressive approach at the plate,” Elgin coach David Forester said. “We hit balls that we could handle. Good things tend to happen when you get good pitches to hit.”
Senior Alex Doty (4-3) took care of the rest on the mound for the Maroons. The senior right-hander allowed just 3 hits in a complete-game shutout. He struck out 3 and did not walk a batter.
“This is almost like a second home field to me. I play a majority of my summer team home games here,” Doty said of Trout Park.
Nate Young doubled and Niko Morado and Kyle Newquist had infield singles for the Royals’ only hits.
Braydon Royse (3-5) suffered the loss. The sophomore right-hander went 4<sup>2</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings, allowing 13 hits and 8 runs. He walked 2 and struck out 2.
“They swung it. They swung it pretty well,” Larkin coach Matt Esterino said of the Maroons. “Hats off to them. They had two tough losses. They came out and played well.”
Gage Teschner was 3-for-3 with 3 singles for Elgin. Bartelt, Sitter and Andrew Higdon each had 2 hits.