Baseball: Larkin avenges Elgin sweep

The sting of last year's 3-game sweep during the regular season at the hands of crosstown rival Elgin was still fresh on the minds of some Larkin players when the two teams renewed their baseball rivalry on Thursday.

Gunnar Boley was one of those players. However, he played a big part in assuring there would not be a repeat of last year's outcome.

Boley went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI to help lead the visiting Royals to an 11-1 Upstate Eight River Division win behind the sparkling pitching of Kobe Mounivong.

Michael Rodriquez went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI for Larkin. The game was moved from Elgin's Trout Park to Elgin High after Wednesday's heavy rain.

"It feels really good to bounce back after being swept last year," Boley said. "We didn't forget and we were really hungry for this."

Mounivong was brilliant on the mound, allowing just 1 hit over 5 innings while striking out 10 and walking just two batters.

"I had good control of my fastball," Mounivong said. "It's something we have been working on. We have a lot of competition among the pitchers in practice to see who can hit spots more. I think being able to locate my pitches was a key today."

At one point in the third and fourth inning Soumivong struck out six straight batters.

"Once he got command of his fastball he really started pounding the strike zone," Larkin coach Matt Esterino said. "He can definitely pitch and this is a step in the right direction for him."

Each team scored a run in the third inning with the Royals run coming on an RBI single from Boley after Aaron Lazovick had led off with a triple.

The Royals then pulled ahead 5-1 with four runs in the fourth inning. Boley again had a big hit with an RBI double. Jackson Reuter added a sacrifice fly. The other two runs scored on errors. Max Anderson and Rodriquez had led off the inning with back-to-back singles.

"Coach told me to take until I see a strike," Boley said. "So I was getting some good looks and just trying to take it back up the middle or the other way."

The Royals (5-2, 1-0) added two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth inning. Michael Rodriquez had an RBI infield single in the fourth and added a 2-run double in the fifth. Cy Kerber added an RBI single in the fifth.

"It's a great rivalry game, but right now it's about trying to play at a consistent level more than worrying about who is in the other dugout," Esterino said.

"I thought we did a good job putting the ball in play. We've been working on cutting down our strikeouts and having a better two-strike approach."

The Maroons (1-6, 0-1) were plagued by poor defense all game.

"We were playing tight and when you play tight you are going to make a lot of mistakes," Elgin coach Dave Foerster. "Right now we are not playing very smart in the field and that starts with me. I have to get them better prepared."

Starting pitcher Kyle Coates took the loss for Elgin. Hayden Gibson had the Maroons' only a hit with a double in the third inning and scored the only run.