Gray collects big hit for Wheaton North
Jackson Gray didn't intend to be greedy at the plate, but greed turned out to be very good for Wheaton North's baseball team.
Gray's walk-off 3-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Falcons a 6-5 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South in Tuesday night's DuPage Valley Conference opener at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream.
"I went up there just trying to get on base and keep the inning going," said Gray, who also started and pitched 5⅔ innings in a no-decision. "It was frustrating up on the mound not being able to finish off some hitters, but it felt great at the end there. It's always great to beat these guys."
WW South (3-4, 0-1) was in control for most the game with Illinois-bound junior Caleb Larson on the mound. Larson pitched into the sixth inning, allowing 2 hits while striking out five, as the Tigers built leads of 3-0 and 5-1.
After Wheaton North (2-4, 1-0) pulled within 5-2 on a sixth-inning wild pitch, the Falcons mounted a one-out rally in the seventh with a single, hit batter, walk and RBI infield single by Erik Mueller. Reliever Jared Smaga coaxed a pop out for the second out, but Gray sent the game-winning hit to left field to end the game.
Wheaton North managed 2 hits in the first six innings, then had 3 hits in the seventh.
"They did a good job of hanging around and got enough guys on there at the end," said Tigers coach Tim Brylka. "You have to tip the cap to them for playing it all the way out and finding a way to win."
An error and infield single by Patrick McGarry, who went 3-for-3, spotted WW South to a 2-0 second-inning lead. Brad Novak's RBI single boosted the advantage to 3-0 in the third, which shrank to 3-1 in the fourth inning when Andrew Nelson's infield single brought home Wheaton North's first run.
Run-scoring doubles by McGarry and Mitch Sandleback pushed the Tigers' lead to 5-1 in the top of the sixth.
Mueller went 2-for-4 for the Falcons while Ryan Simak had 2 hits for WW South. Tim Maiste earned the win in relief.
"I give our guys a lot of credit for staying in the game the whole way and not getting down," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling. "Getting a 'W' out of a game like this is big for our confidence."
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