Baseball: St. Charles North's Kennedy settles down after tough 1st inning

Josh Kennedy didn't exactly plan on surrendering a three-run homer in the first inning of his first home start.

But, as St. Charles North senior catcher Jayden Lobliner put it, Kennedy "hopped on the train and kept on riding."

Lobliner, a Kansas State commit, has caught numerous different pitchers in his four seasons at the varsity level. Adjusting and working with Kennedy, a steady left-hander, appears to be humming right along.

"I love his arm slot. It makes every pitch move. I think that's going to help him," Lobliner said following the North Stars' game with Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday that was suspended in the fifth inning with St. Charles North leading 10-5.

The game was called with the North Stars having runners at second and third with no outs in the fifth inning. It was immediately unclear postgame between the respective coaching staffs if the game was to be resumed at a later date, or if it would end as an official game.

St. Charles North defeated WW South 10-3 on Monday.

Either way, Lobliner and the North Stars were encouraged by Kennedy's outing.

"It was a windy day, so command was difficult, but I think he did a really good job with it after he settled in," Lobliner said, "and I think that's going to be a big factor for him later as his stuff moves. It's hard to hit. As a hitter, it's always hard to hit."

Kennedy served up the three-run blast to WW South's Eric Swanson in the first inning, but bounced back with three consecutive strikeouts the following inning. That pitching - and timely hitting - helped keep the North Stars (5-4, 1-0) in the game during Kennedy's four-inning, five-hit and six-strikeout no-decision.

"I'm really proud of him," Lobliner said. "I know we talked about in the dugout after that three-run homer happened where it kick-started him. It gave him that energy boost that he needed. He went out there; got a one-two-three inning and rode it from there."

"Just had to settle in," Kennedy said. "First start [at home], a lot of nerves, but just happy we got the [result]. It's all about control. I've got to find my control first. I know velocity is going to come throughout the season, so just got to dial in sometimes."

Kennedy's fastball and curveball appear to be his strongest pitches through a handful of starts, and having a veteran like Lobliner behind the plate appears to be a calming factor as well.

"Jayden is my guy," Kennedy said. "He makes all my pitches look good. I love throwing to him back there. He's suction-cup."

"It's still early [in the season]. I think that was [Kennedy's] third start, so we're still trying to feel for what we're doing instead of challenging in the zone," North Stars coach Todd Genke said. "He got caught up with that in the first inning, but was really proud of how he settled down. He got his breaking ball over and he competed, which I loved to see. He needs to step up for us. He's a senior and it was nice to kind of get through that hiccup in the first inning and really settle in."

St. Charles North began to get to WW South pitcher Evan Pollina (2.2 innings pitched, four runs, three hits) in the third inning, as the North Stars loaded the bases on two walks and an excellent bunt by Chris Graziano.

A passed ball allowed Jackson Spring to score and then Anthony Estrada followed with a sacrifice fly for the quick two North Stars runs. Colin Ryder hit an RBI infield single two batters later, and a wild pitch allowed Ryan Caccia to score from third for the 4-3 North Stars advantage.

WW South (3-3, 0-1) answered back in the fourth with an RBI single from Jason Hartman, and a North Stars fielding error on a steal attempt from Hartman allowed Logan Bute to motor in from third to retake the lead at 5-4.

The North Stars came back with four runs in the fourth, and added two more in the fifth on a balk with the bases loaded and an RBI double from Estrada before the game was stopped due to darkness.

"Off [Pollina], they didn't hit a ton of balls hard. It was just a matter of us getting ourselves in trouble," Tigers coach John Scherrman said. "And not taking advantage of a couple outs they were giving us on the base paths and us just giving free bases away at times. That's what allowed them to get back in it. Later in the game, obviously, their bats came alive a little bit more the last inning. They did what they needed to do to win and we didn't."