Bartlett 8, Waubonsie Valley 5

Baseball teams can go days between those elusive, run-scoring, two-out basehits.

Bartlett managed a week's worth of them Tuesday in its 8-5 victory over visiting Waubonsie Valley to take two out of three games in the Upstate Eight Conference series.

Bartlett (15-7, 14-6) scored 4 runs on 5 straight hits after two were away in the fourth inning, and they reclaimed the lead for good in the sixth inning with another 4-run rally keyed by two more two-out knocks.

"It's been pretty commonplace for us this year. We've been getting good two-out rallies," Bartlett coach Rocco Marinucci said. "Thank God. We've put ourselves in some holes with some questionable swings at times, but we seem to get good at bats when we need them."

Bartlett needed them in the bottom of the sixth inning, trailing 5-4.

Waubonsie Valley starting pitcher Russell Schofield gave up a single to Bartlett No. 8 hitter Kyle Burden and was lifted two outs later after he beaned Ryan Schrader, which put Bartlett runners at first and third.

Warriors coach Dan Fezzuglio tabbed right-handed reliever Matt Brancheau to face Mike Derby. The lefty hitter dribbled a ball toward shortstop, but the wide throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing courtesy runner Devin Rowland to score the tying run for the Hawks.

"I was just trying to make contact," Derby said. "I didn't want to strike out."

Bartlett then grabbed a 6-5 lead when cleanup man Mike Selvaggi jerked a Brancheau outside slider to left center, scoring Schrader.

Alex VanNess followed with a deep flyball to left field that fooled the left fielder and eventually bounced beyond his reach for a 2-run double and an 8-5 Bartlett advantage.

"We had two real bad innings and the two-out hits were huge for them," Fezzuoglio said. "They stung the ball a lot better."

Kevin Carmody (2-1) tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief to earn the victory.

Schofield struggled through Bartlett's 4-run second inning, but he subsequently settled in and threw 3 scoreless innings.

However, Schofield was given new life when the Warriors answered right back to tie the game with 4 runs in the third against Derby, Bartlett's ace, who struggled with control.

Derby walked the bases loaded, gave up a run-scoring infield chop to Chris Galovic, a RBI basehit to Dan Walker, hit Bryan Fekety with a pitch that forced in a run and bounced a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score.

"It was tough right off the bat when they got those 4 runs, but after that we got just as many runs back and I knew we were still in this," Schofield said. "I just needed to shut them down from then on."

Schofield did exactly that and his teammates staked him to a 1-run lead in the fifth inning, when 2 infield errors by the Hawks allowed an unearned run to cross the plate.