Glenbard East 7, Wheaton North 0

Glenbard East baseball coach Nick Scipione didn't like his team's chances after the first inning of Tuesday's DuPage Valley game against conference leader Wheaton North.

It seemed the Rams had two teams to battle, as the Falcons hitters and Glenbard East's own defensive lapses helped stake Wheaton North to a 7-0 lead after one.

Yet the Rams kept battling, clawing their way back into the game and eventually pulling out an 11-7 victory in Wheaton.

"Down 7-0, coach and I looked at each other and thought, 'Oh no,' " Scipione said of assistant coach Mark Evangelista, "but we've worked a lot on our hitting. We've been going in mornings, staying after school … every one of these guys has been going to the cages on their own too. I'm hoping this is a turning point."

The extra time honing their swings paid dividends for the Rams, as Glenbard East immediately responded with 7 runs of their own in the top of the second inning, highlighted by senior Jason Callahan's 2-run double to right field.

After making a pair of infield gaffes that contributed to Wheaton North's 7 first-inning runs, Callahan felt relieved to help out on the offensive side of the game.

"I came back and got some hits today after my first inning of embarrassment," a smiling Callahan said. "It made me feel really good. I was really down after that first inning, but I knew I've still got a bat in my hand and I can do something for this team."

Glenbard East (7-16, 5-10) took their first lead of the game in the top of the fifth, once again keyed by a Callahan RBI double. Center fielder Bob Ryan's sacrifice fly to left field put the Rams ahead 9-7.

Two more runs in the top of the seventh gave starter Eric Knol (2-5) a 4-run lead, giving the hard-luck pitcher enough of a cushion to finish the game he started.

"The first inning's usually my worst inning," Knol said. "I really wanted to beat these guys. They're No. 1 in conference so you've got to take them down."

Wheaton North's own fielding struggles dug the Falcons (17-8, 11-4) too deep of a hole to emerge from.

"We broke down in a few different areas," Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling said. "We didn't field the ball. We gave them a lot of extra opportunities, and they took advantage of it."