Larkin stands on verge of sweeping Elgin
What Larkin pitcher Jon Lenz lacked in stuff, he made up for with tough in a 6-3 victory over Elgin at Trout Park on Wednesday.
Though the senior right-hander admitted he was a tad sore after throwing 20 pitches in a 1⅓-inning save of Tuesday's series opener, he didn't hesitate to make his regularly scheduled start in Game 2 of the 3-game Upstate Eight River series on Wednesday.
"Elgin series, rivalry," Lenz said. "I'm always looking to go the whole way and do whatever I can to win so that wasn't really in question."
Lenz (1-2) said command of his secondary pitches was intermittent, so he relied on a well-located cut fastball. He also found ways to mostly avoid the trouble normally associated with allowing leadoff hitters to reach base in five of seven innings.
Lenz held Elgin to 3 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits. He struck out 6 without issuing a walk in a 90-pitch, 7-inning performance that clinched the series in favor of Larkin (6-9, 3-5) for the second straight season.
"Jon's a grinder," Larkin coach Matt Esterino said. "I don't think he was 100 percent healthy, but he fought through it. He's a senior. I think he's one of the better pitchers in the area. We don't maybe score a ton to get him a ton of wins, but he is one of the best pitchers in the area. We have a ton of confidence in him."
Larkin scored twice to take a third-inning lead. Dan Lenz successfully stole home in a double steal with courtesy runner Joey Rahn. Nick Fillmore staked the Royals to a 2-0 lead with his two-out, RBI single to left.
The Maroons drew within 2-1 in the fourth inning. Pitcher Scotty Palmer led off with a single, catcher Tom Sobeski followed with a double and third baseman Mike Gonzalez drove in a run with a groundout.
Fillmore struck again in the fifth. His double to the center-field fence scored Tanner Gardon for a 3-1 lead. Fillmore scored one out later on a swinging bunt by Larkin designated hitter David Bello for a 4-1 cushion.
Elgin pulled within 4-2 via an unearned run in the top of the sixth, but Tanner Gardon restored Larkin's 3-run lead in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run off the scoreboard in left center The senior first baseman hit the first pitch of his at-bat for his second home run of the season and second of the series.
"I'm just getting the pitch I'm looking for," Gardon said. "I've been struggling of late coming into these last couple of games. I've been working with coach trying to get a little quicker swing. I'm trying to be a little bit more aggressive."
Larkin added an unearned run in the sixth to make it 6-2. Elgin responded with a Dean Anderson RBI groundout in the seventh, but Lenz notched the final two outs on a groundball and a strikeout to seal it.
Palmer wasn't at his sharpest. He allowed 4 runs, only 1 of which was earned, but he surrendered 8 hits and walked 6 in 5 innings while striking out 2.
Elgin's more pressing issue was the lack of timely hitting. Despite putting the leadoff man on base five times, the Maroons left 7 on base and were held to 3 runs.
"We came out with a lot more intensity and our bats were going but not enough," said Sobeski, who went 3-for-3 with 2 doubles.
"We were looking for that big hit, the big double somewhere," Elgin coach David Foerster said. "We just haven't been able to get it."
The teams conclude their 3-game set at Trout Park on Thursday at 6 p.m. Like last season, Elgin looks to salvage the third game of the series. Larkin can sweep the series for the first time since 2009.
"It's a goal," Esterino said. "It's set up there for us, so why not?"