South Elgin happy with 7-7 tie with Neuqua Valley

While most ties are considered "sister-kissers," the giddy boys of the South Elgin baseball team reacted after a 7-7, 9-inning tie against visiting Neuqua Valley as if they'd just kissed Jessica Alba.

Neuqua Valley (6-4-1, 2-0-1 Upstate Eight Conference) scored 3 runs in the fifth inning and 3 in the sixth to take a commanding 7-2 lead to the bottom of the seventh.

But one night after the Wildcats defeated South Elgin on a 2-run, walk-off home run by Joe Ippolito, the Storm (4-7-1, 1-3-1) exploded with last-at-bat heroics of their own to score 5 runs and send the game to extras.

After striking out the South Elgin leadoff hitter in the seventh, Wildcats senior pitcher Chris Widup walked the next 2 hitters he faced before Kyle Kinyon doubled in a run to make the score 7-3. A 2-base error on a flyball to left field allowed another South Elgin run to score, which prompted Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner to pull Widup in favor of hard-throwing senior Mike McKinley.

To the plate strode confident Charlie Sabo, who had blasted his first home run of the season in the fourth inning, a solo shot, off Wildcats starting pitcher Rob Skowronski. That home run gave the Storm a 2-1 lead at the time.

McKinley got ahead in the count 1-2 before Sabo locked in and crushed a 3-run home run well over the 360-foot sign in center field to tie the game 7-7.

"I was sitting fastball, looking curveball," Sabo said. "He brought a fastball and I just turned on it... It's a small victory. We lost (Thursday) night against Neuqua when they hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh. So, I got my turn and I did it. It was good redemption. It felt good. It would have been better if we won."

It's likely neither team will ever win Friday's contest. Suspended due to darkness after scoreless eighth and ninth innings tossed by McKinley and South Elgin's Drew Buddle, the game will only be resumed if the result would affect the race for first place in the Upstate Eight Conference, Renner and South Elgin coach Jim Kating said.

The Storm had a chance to win the game in the ninth, but McKinley induced a flyball to left field from Sabo with a runner at second.

As the Wildcats packed their gear quietly, Renner lamented his team's overall play.

"We just haven't been playing very good baseball at all," he said. "We're drifting on flyballs, we either walked or hit 9 guys today, putting guys on base. Two of the guys who scored in (the seventh) inning were walked. We don't make plays when we need to.

"Offensively, our team batting average is about .250. We don't hit. Our attitudes are not where they need to be. We don't want to attack the pitcher. We're very passive. I can't remember the last time we swung on a 3-1 count. We're waiting for the walk. With an approach like that, we're going to struggle."