Wrap: King, Hawks hang on to nip Saints

One look at the flagpole beyond the center field wall told the story Wednesday afternoon.

Bartlett junior pitcher Kyle King knew exactly what kind of elements he would face as the Hawks hopped on the bus and headed to St. Charles East.

"I knew the wind was going to be blowing in today," said King. "The weather conditions were a little severe."

Starting his third varsity game on the mound, the left-hander turned in a dominating performance, striking out 10 while tossing 1-hit ball for 6 innings during Bartlett's 2-1 Upstate Eight Conference diamond victory over the Saints (3-8-1, 2-4-1).

King, who allowed a harmless first-inning single off the bat of sophomore Johnathan Erickson, struck out 5 consecutive batters at one point -- fanning the side in order in the second inning.

"The breaking ball was working," said King, who recorded his first varsity win. "Actually, the weather helped out my breaking ball a little bit. I was just trying to keep the ball down."

Bartlett took a 1-0 lead in the third as Kyle Burden led off with a single and courtesy runner David Palma advanced to second on Tucker Erickson's sacrifice bunt.

After moving to third on Devin Rowland's single, Palma came across on Ryan Walker's perfectly executed squeeze bunt.

"I was definitely thinking (small ball)," said Bartlett coach Rocco Marinucci. "It was not a fly ball day today."

The Hawks (5-4, 4-3) added what turned out to be a much-needed insurance run in the seventh on Nick Quagliano's RBI single.

Alex VanNess came on in relief of King (pitch count) to start the seventh inning, and the Saints quickly cut the lead in half on an RBI double from sophomore third baseman Ryan O'Dell.

O'Dell eventually moved to third but was left stranded as VanNess retired the next batter on a groundout to record the save.

"We bounced back nice after yesterday's disappointing loss (8-7) to South Elgin," said Marinucci, who was impressed with King's pitching prowess.

"He did a great job," said the coach. "He did everything that we're hoping for from a junior. He's got a good breaking ball."

King has also shown the ability to rack up strikeouts during his young varsity career.

"He's got a lot of them so far," said Marinucci. "This is his third start and he's had five or more (strikeouts) in every one of his starts."

Junior southpaw Kyle Wiebe was the tough-luck losing pitcher for the Saints, who managed just 3 hits while dropping their fourth 1-run game of the season -- the second of the week to the Hawks.

"We had a lot of chances today but we didn't get the big hit," said Saints coach Mark Foulkes. "But what was encouraging was our defense was very good and our pitching was very good.

"It's just a matter of us hitting and putting it all together. We're still waiting but they'll keep working hard to get there."

Westminster Christian 13, Timothy Christian 0: Behind a 1-hit pitching performance from Brandon Siewert (3-0) and his 3-for-4 showing at the plate, which included a home run and 5 RBI, Westminster Christian (9-3-1, 3-0) picked up this Private School League shutout in 5 innings in Elmhurst.

Tyler Beachler (3-for-4, 2b, 2 RBI), Cory Hodge (2b, RBI), Ted Grossman (2b) and Casey Schuring (2-for-3) took turns powering the offense.

Burlington Central 7, Genoa-Kingston 0: David Hartwell threw a complete game for Burlington Central (5-5) to earn his second win of the season, allowing just 1 hit while striking out nine. At the plate, Austin Jarvis (2-for-3, 2b, RBI), Bill Rodriguez (hit, RBI) and Brian Bell (2b, RBI) led the way for the Rockets in this Big Northern East Conference crossover meeting.

Driscoll 13, St. Edward 11: The Green Wave (3-6, 2-3) fell to the Highlanders in Suburban Catholic Conference action. T.J. Madzy led the way for St. Edward with a 3-run triple. The Green Wave were also led by Mike Kondrat and Jordan Torres, each of whom hit 2-run doubles. Riley Coleman took the loss on the mound, pitching 4 innings with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Lake Park 13, Larkin 0: With 2 hits John Banks provided a bright spot for Larkin (5-6, 4-4) in this Upstate Eight Conference loss to Lake Park in 5 innings. Brandon Anderson took the loss.

Jacobs 3, CL Central 0: With the wind blowing in, Mike Castillo got much of the credit for Jacobs (5-1) in this Fox Valley Conference crossover victory. Castillo was on the mound, perfect through 6¿ innings, and went the distance allowing 2 hits while fanning 8 hitters.

Cary-Grove 22, Johnsburg 3: After dropping three straight, solid pitching and an unstoppable offense got the Trojans (10-3) back on track in this five-inning Fox Valley Conference crossover victory. Corey Bruns earned the win by allowing just 5 hits while fanning 10.

"Cory did a great job pitching on a terrible day to pitch," said C-G coach Don Sutherland.

At the plate Nick Hammonds went 4-for-4 with a double and 5 RBI while Eric Aguilera (3-for-3, 2b, HR), Matt Nelsen (3-for-4, 2b, HR, 3 RBI) and Luke Mottashed (3-for-3, 2 doubles) each enjoyed productive afternoons.

Crystal Lake South 12, Huntley 6: The Gators (6-2) bounced back from a loss to Johnsburg on Tuesday to clip the Red Raiders (9-5) in Fox Valley crossover action. James Vazquez and Ryan Kelley each doubled and homered. Tony Pauls also hit a home run for CL South. Wesley Evans (1-0) pitched 4 innings in relief for the win with 7 strikeouts, 1 walk and 6 hits. Huntley's Nate Prokuski tripled and Zach Liebman added a double. Junior Jeremy Grap suffered the loss, pitching 1 inning allowing 5 hits and 4 runs.

Streamwood 6, Waubonsie Valley 5: Streamwood (3-5, 2-2) tipped Waubonsie Valley for this Upstate Eight Conference win. Mark Conniff earned the victory in relief, pitching 3 innings of 1-hit ball and recording 3 strikeouts. Late-inning heroics came from Ryan Kiesel (3-for-4, 2 RBI) who knocked in the game-winning RBI. Rob Barth (3-for-4) and Matt Korntved (3-run HR) were keys to the victory.

South Elgin 11, East Aurora 3:ŒThe Storm (4-3, 4-3 Upstate Eight) won their third straight by tipping the Tomcats in Aurora behind pitcher Kevin Davis' 6-inning, 4-strikeout effort. Jon Meuser went 4-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI, Ryan Kellner finished 3-for-5 and drove in a pair, Matt Wright tripled and drove in 2 runs and Kyle Kinyon went 2-for-4 with a RBI. Kyle Daker struck out the side in a scoreless seventh.

Hampshire 19, North Boone 4:ŒThe Whip-Purs scored early and often to distance themselves from the host team in a 5-inning contest in the Big Northern Conference. Kent Larson tossed 5 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts and no walks to improve to 1-2. Zach Crinigan (2-for-4, 2-run HR), Joel Moore (4-for-5, 3-run HR), Cameron Rath (3-for-4, 2-run HR) and Tyler Bentley (3b) all delivered for Hampshire (4-6, 2-0).