Baseball: Schaumburg freshman Adamowicz no-hits West Chicago
Schaumburg freshman Hayden Adamowicz entered this season with lots of hype and expectations.
On Thursday in Schaumburg, Adamowicz showed why.
The 6-foot lefthander handcuffed West Chicago, tossing a 5-inning no hitter as the Saxons won 10-0.
“It was going well out there,” Adamowicz said. “It felt absolutely great. I could have gone another inning if I had to.”
Schaumburg coach Nick Kostalek was impressed with his freshman.
“He is confident,” Kostalek said. “And he attacks the strike zone. He has really, really good stuff. He is the most mature and strongest freshman I have worked with from a baseball standpoint. It has been really fun to see.”
West Chicago coach TJ Nall, who is a Schaumburg graduate, was making his first regular baseball season return to his alma mater since 1999. Nall, who was an all-state pitcher for the Saxons and former pitching coach for the Schaumburg Boomers, was impressed with Adamowicz.
“He had good command of everything,” Nall said. “He had three pitches he could throw for strikes at any point in time and he kept us off balance. He was also changing eye levels. Anytime a kid can do that, it is going to be tough on us.”
Nall, who pitched in the minors and is arguably one of the best pitchers in Schaumburg history, said Adamowicz did something he never did.
“I never threw a no-hitter here,” Nall said. “It is exciting to watch but it is tough be on the other side of it.”
Adamowicz, who was making his second start of the season, hit the first batter. But he settled down from there.
He struck out nine and walked one while hitting two batters. He threw 71 pitches, with 44 of those strikes.
Adamowicz is now 2-0 with a save, with 24 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and one run.
Only five West Chicago batters put the ball in play. Adamowicz was the recipient of a couple of solid defensive plays.
Brayden Mazzacano jumped as high as he could and snared a line drive from the Wildcats’ Brandon Heath to rob him of a hit.
“I am flabbergasted that I was able to get up that high,” said Mazzacano, a senior who will play at Illinois next season.
Schaumburg also turned a solid 6-4-3 double play to end the fourth inning.
Mazzacano also led the Saxons (6-2) with a pair of doubles, RBI and run scored. Nate Barnitz had two hits, two RBI and two runs while Zach Miller had a two-run double as Schaumburg had 10 hits.
Nall said West Chicago (2-4) will battle back.
“We have been pretty good early,” Nall said. “We are ahead of where we usually are at this point in time. We should be able to bounce back.”
In a game played earlier in the day, Schaumburg picked up a 10-0 win over Hononegah in six innings.
Mazzacano, who is a four-year starter for the Saxons, went five innings in that game for the Saxons. He allowed just one hit while striking out four.
“Its good to see how well they threw and how hard they work,” Kostalek said. “They definitely set the tone. Adamowicz follows Maz and Maz is one of the hardest working kids I have worked with before.”
Colin Adam’s had three hits including a double while driving in four runs. Mazzacano also had a pair of hits and RBI.