Baseball: Ryan, Glenbard West put it all together
Glenbard West's baseball team put together as complete an effort as you'll see.
None of it was possible without Logan Ryan setting the tone on the mound.
The junior right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning - and also had 2 hits and drove in 2 runs at the plate - while leading the Hilltoppers to Tuesday's 8-1 West Suburban Silver victory over York in Glen Ellyn.
In front of an errorless defense, Ryan struck out seven and walked four in 5⅔ innings. Clayton Letourneau broke up the no-hitter leading off the top of the sixth when his grounder down the first-base line bounced off the bag and over the head of first baseman Grant Lalla.
After striking out the next two batters, Ryan was relieved by Peter Schilling, who closed out the win for Glenbard West (5-4, 3-2).
"I jinxed myself going into that last inning," Ryan said with a laugh. "It's OK. It's a great accomplishment but I'm mostly focused on just pitching well. I feel like I'm there right now."
Ryan earned his first start of the season with a solid relief outing in last week's win over Hinsdale Central. He allowed only one runner to reach second base in the first four innings on Tuesday, then stranded a runner at third in the fifth.
The offense spotted Ryan to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Lalla's RBI single. Insurance arrived in the fourth with a two-out rally sparked by RBI singles from Ryan Petersen and Joey Gavac.
Leading 3-0, Glenbard West added 5 runs in the fifth inning as York's defense began to falter. Ryan had a 2-run single and Gavac added an RBI double.
"Charlie (Pakenas) pitched well enough to win, but it's tough when you have four or five errors and no offense," said York coach Dave Kalal. "It's a long season but it goes by quickly. We've got to find some guys who want to compete. We've got the pitching, but we need those other phases to step up."
Letourneau scored in the sixth inning on Mike Pastuovic's RBI single. Pakenas allowed just 1 earned run in 4⅔ innings for York (7-4, 1-2).
"Seven hits, no errors, put up 8 runs with a bunch of clutch hits, Logan was unreal," said Glenbard West coach Andy Schultz. "Zero complaints about anything today. I thought our guys played real well."
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