Wheaton North 14, Naperville North 2

On a day when the wind howled straight out of the ballpark, the question was a no-brainer.

When Wheaton North junior Jack DeAno was asked whether he enjoyed pitching or hitting more on Wednesday, he didn't hesitate.

"It was definitely a better day to hit today," he said. "It was a bit challenging pitching, but I got used to it."

DeAno looked fine wherever he played in his DuPage Valley Conference baseball game at Naperville North, leading the Falcons to a 14-2 six-inning victory to even the series at a game apiece.

The three-game set concludes today in Wheaton as the DVC title-challengers vie for position in the standings.

"We really wanted this game," said DeAno, who went 4-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI. "It was really important because we're both good teams and we need to win this series."

The wind didn't affect DeAno too badly. He improved to 3-0 with a 2-hitter that included 6 strikeouts, 4 walks and 2 hit batters. He had a no-hitter through 3¿ innings in front of an errorless defense.

An Alex Helms RBI groundout in the fourth inning and a Mike Nodzenski solo homer in the fifth were the only runs the Huskies (10-3, 4-1) managed.

Wheaton North (9-2, 4-1) broke Naperville North's seven-game winning streak with an 11-hit, 3-homer barrage. The Falcons also took advantage of 5 errors by scoring 7 unearned runs.

A 3-run home run by Wade Cervenka in the top of the sixth inning gave Wheaton North its 14-2 lead, and the game ended after DeAno sent the Huskies down in order.

"They put the ball in play, and we didn't make many plays," said Huskies coach Carl Hunckler. "That led to several more hitters and several more runs. We'll use this as a learning experience and try to start another streak."

Wheaton North scored 3 first-inning runs without hitting the ball out of the infield. Travis Otto's third-inning sacrifice fly put the Falcons ahead 4-0. Ryan Javech's RBI single made it 5-0.

Luke Thorpe and Brett Kirchhofer each drove in runs in the 6-run fifth, setting up DeAno's 2-run homer. Javech then launched his own 2-run home run to put the lead at 11-1. Nodzenski kept the game going another inning with his solo shot.

"Not the best conditions to pitch in for Jack, so we were real happy with the way he kept down a good-hitting lineup," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling.