Baseball: Neuqua Valley's Sterchele throws 1-hitter at Metea Valley

Trust your sinker. Trust your defense.

Baseball became that simple for Neuqua Valley pitcher Anthony Sterchele on Tuesday.

The senior right-hander stymied hitters throughout a six-inning 10-0 victory over Metea Valley in a key DuPage Valley Conference matchup in Aurora.

Sterchele hit the mid and upper 80s with his fastball but it was his sinker that forced hitters to pound the ball into the ground. That was fine with Sterchele, who pitched a 1-hitter while coaxing 11 groundball outs to second baseman Nolan Clifford, shortstop Nick Taylor, third baseman Mitch Rokosz and first baseman Justin Blazek.

As Neuqua Valley (15-4, 6-0) committed no errors, the Wildcats took advantage of the many miscues from Metea Valley (16-2, 4-2).

"The sinker is my go-to pitch, and I use that to get ground balls when I want them," said Sterchele, who needed only 66 pitches to get through 6 innings. "I was able to throw that a lot today. I didn't really have my off-speed stuff today, so I had to go with my best pitch."

The Mustangs committed 6 errors to match the total from their first 17 games combined. None of the 6 runs allowed by Metea Valley starting pitcher Jack Belskis were earned during his 4 innings.

"When you play a good team like that and give them extra outs and extra opportunities, that's going to happen," said Metea Valley coach Craig Tomczak. "I thought Belskis threw the ball well enough for us to stay in it, but I thought our approach at the plate was a little off. Now we've got to flush this one and battle back."

After scoring 4 runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead, Neuqua Valley added 4 runs in the sixth. Kevin Butler singled in 2 runs while Blazek and Clifford also had RBI singles.

Taylor went 3-for-5 for the Wildcats. Clifford, Ethan Schreier, Rokosz and Butler had 2 hits apiece in a 15-hit attack. The Mustangs' biggest threat came when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the third - started by Dylan Wrona's leadoff single - but Sterchele pitched out of the jam.

"We talk about putting pressure on teams and keeping them on their heels," said Neuqua Valley coach James Thornton. "We're turning the corner in taking what we learn in practice and utilizing it in games. And our guys pick up the ball. We feel real confident when groundballs are hit. We don't have to strike everybody out."

Twitter: @kevin_schmit