Baseball: Macholz delivers in key spot, leads St. Charles North past Lake Park

Before stepping into the batter’s box to face a new relief pitcher, Nolan Macholz likes to put himself through a brief learning process.

“I think what is really important is I’m watching his warmup pitches,” said Macholz. “I’m studying where he’s putting the ball, what his off-speed pitches look like, what his fastball looks like, and his pitch location.”

The cram course paid dividends for Macholz, who delivered a 2-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, providing St. Charles North (19-11, 12-7) with some insurance during its eventual 13-8 DuKane Conference baseball triumph over Lake Park (15-17, 6-13) Saturday in Roselle.

Macholz lined a 1-1 pitch through the middle, forcing the base umpire to fall for cover, as Ben Auer and Mason Netcel scored to make it 9-5.

“That first pitch — I didn’t want to hop on it right away,” said Macholz, who reached base all 4 times, including a pair of hit-by-pitches. “I needed to see what it looks like in the box.

“He threw me a curveball 0-1 and it was low. I knew he was going to come back with that fastball, and I was ready for it.”

The North Stars grabbed a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, capitalizing on 2 walks, a pair of hit batsmen, Langdon Straub’s 2-run single, and Landon Paul’s sacrifice fly.

Lake Park answered with a 2-run first, as Kaylen Patel, Max Alvarado, and Connor Hogan were all plunked by pitches, while Josh Kolton drove in a run with a groundout.

The Lancers tied it at 5-5 in the third.

Patel reached on a 1-out double that was lost in the sun before Alvarado’s bunt single put runners on the corners. Sophomore Colton Hardman’s RBI single made it 5-3, and Kolton drove in his second and third runs of the game with a double to right-center.

“I was disappointed with the way we didn’t hold a 5-run lead to start the game,” said North Stars coach Todd Genke. “We’ve got to be better there.

“This place seems to always play like Wrigley Field. When the wind blows, there’s no lead safe.”

Lake Park closed within a run at 9-8 following a 3-run fourth that featured Shaylen Kshatriya’s leadoff double, a successful double steal, and Hardman’s RBI groundout.

The North Stars closed out the game with a pair of runs in the fifth and seventh.

Paul, a junior, finished with a pair of doubles and RBI from the 8-hole, while Nick Gnutek added an RBI single — part of the North Stars’ 8-hit attack.

“I was proud of how we kept answering the bell,” said Genke, whose team has won 5 consecutive series in DuKane play. “We swung the bats well and did a great job offensively.”

Defensively, center fielder Reed Raczka made a pair of running catches, while third baseman Netcel dove to his left to snag a hard-hit, 1-hopper to end the third.

“We played good, sound defense,” said Genke.

Patel and Alvarado each had a pair of hits for the Lancers, who dropped their fifth straight.

“We had 11 walks or hit by pitches,” said Lancers coach Dan Colucci. “It’s varsity baseball — we’ve got to compete in the zone a little bit better than that against a good team that can swing the bat.

“We’re in a situation right now where we’re trying to feel our way through. Can we turn it around? We’ve got three more games to do it before playoffs.”