Baseball: Larkin edges Streamwood
It doesn't always take a hard-hit smash to win a baseball game.
Larkin needed only a 50-foot roller that turned into the winning run as the Royals came from behind to edge Streamwood, 4-3, in an Upstate Eight River matchup in Elgin Thursday.
Gunnar Boley went the distance on the mound for Larkin (5-3, 2-1), allowing 7 hits while striking out 5.
His counterpart, Daniel Kuehl, wasn't bad, either. Kuehl allowed just 5 hits in 5-plus innings. Few balls against him were hard hit. One that definitely was not hit hard did the most damage.
With the score tied at 3, Cy Kerber led off the sixth by dribbling one about 50 feet down the third-base line and beating it out. Max Anderson followed with a walk. Max Alanis relieved Kuehl and Kobe Mounavong sacrificed the runners over. Kerber scored on a wild pitch before Alanis struck out Jeff Althamar and Sebastian Nava to end the inning.
The Sabres (6-3, 1-2), had a chance to tie. Cody Motykowski led off the seventh with a bad-hop single and stole second. But Boley got 3 straight outs to win it. Center fielder Jackson Reuter hauled in Anthony Caruso's high fly for the final out.
Earlier, Nava drove in the tying run with a single down the right field line to score Mounavong.
The Sabres had taken the lead with 3 runs in the third inning. A double by AJ Reyna got it started. After Caruso walked, Tyler Jones drove in Reyna with a double, and Alanis's single plated 2 more.
Boley and the Royals didn't get down after falling behind.
"The last two days, we have really grown a lot mentally in how we're approaching the game," said Larkin coach Matt Esterino. "We did not let it get to us, we didn't get down. We stayed together. Everyone in the dugout was picking him up and as a senior he just took a deep breath and pounded the zone. So really it was his mentality.
"You're looking for that mental growth as much as the physical. The physical growth will come, but the mental, in this sport, was vital."
Larkin jumped ahead in the first with just 2 hits. Reuter led off with a hit to short right field. He stole second and scored on a pair of errors. Andy Bonnot followed with a single and came around to score on Kerber's grounder to the right side.
Kuehl struck out 5 and walked just 2, but didn't have the best of luck.
"They had a couple bleeders here, a couple hit-'em-where-we're-not type of at-bats," said Streamwood coach Ryan Lasota. "He pitched great for us and deserved a better fate. But I like the way we competed down the stretch. Anytime you can finish a game getting ourselves in position where you have the tying run at second base, I'll take that."