Focused Avella helps Crystal Lake South past Grayslake Central

Fresh off a trip to the eye doctor, Crystal Lake South left fielder Michael Avella hasn't yet received his order of contact lenses.

But his new brown-framed glasses had come in, so he had those on for Saturday's Fox Valley Conference game at Grayslake Central.

Avella, who has never worn glasses or contacts before, probably wishes he had gotten his eyes checked (and corrected) earlier in the season.

In his first at-bat, with two outs in the first inning, Avella crushed a change-up from Grayslake Central starter Sam Ruhlman over the left field fence and brought in all three of the Gators' runs in their 3-0 victory.

The win gives Crystal Lake South its 20th win of the season. The Gators (20-4) keep pace for first place in the Fox Valley Conference, moving to 11-2 in league play.

"I just got these glasses and they're helping," Avella said with a laugh. "I saw the change-up out of his hands and tried to just wait back on it. I'm probably (seeing the ball better)."

Avella's home run probably helped Crystal Lake South starting pitcher Matt Schingel throw the ball better, or at least with more confidence. Schingel went the distance against the Rams and allowed just 5 hits and only 1 walk. Grayslake Central didn't get a single extra-base hit.

"It definitely helped, Mike hitting that home run," Schingel said. "It kind of relaxes you as a pitcher, knowing that you already have the lead going into your start."

Schingel was mowing down Grayslake Central's lineup, but ran into a mini-jam in the bottom of the seventh inning as Grayslake Central loaded the bases on a walk with two outs.

That warranted a trip to the mound by Crystal Lake South coach Brian Bogda. But Schingel made it clear that he was fine and wanted to finish the game.

"I was feeling good," Schingel said. "I didn't want to get messed up, but I understand why (Bogda came to the mound). He just wanted to calm us down and tell us where to go when the play comes."

The play never came. Schingel proceeded to throw three straight strikes to the next batter to end the game with an exclamation point strikeout.

"I knew I could finish," said Schingel, a Northwest Missouri State recruit who is now 9-0 on the season. "I had 66 pitches going into the last inning, so I knew my arm was going to be fine."

Bogda knew that too, and never intended to take Schingel out for the final out. He just wanted to break up the Rams' momentum.

"Just wanted to give him (Schingel) a chance to take a deep breath, regroup and collect himself, too," Bogda said of his final visit to the mound. "He had done so well throughout the game and we wanted him to finish out the game. He mixed his pitches really well today. He had his curveball and changeup working for strikes and he was able to locate his fastball and we made some nice plays behind him.

"It was also huge for him that Mike (Avella) got that homer and huge that all three of our hits that inning came with two strikes."

Right fielder John Constantino led Crystal Lake South with 2 hits, including a single in the first inning. But other than that and Avella's home run, the Gators' offense was kept in check by Grayslake Central's pitching combination of Ruhlmann (4⅓ innings), Justin Guryn (1⅓ innings) and David Llorens (1 inning).

Crystal Lake South managed a total of just 5 hits.

"It's not easy to come back from (a first-inning home run), but my teammates made the plays after that and really helped me out," said Ruhlmann, who took the loss and is now 4-2 on the mound. "We fielded well, we played hard. I just left up my change-up (on the home run) and you can't do that at the varsity level."

Grayslake Central had several opportunities for offense fall just out of play. The Rams, who drop to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in the Fox Valley, have been a bit off like that all season.

"We knew we were going to be in for a tough one today," Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen said. "Crystal Lake South has a great team this year, as they do every year. This was a typical Fox Valley game, pitching and defense.

"I was proud of the way our guys battled, even in the last inning. We've been there a lot this year, and we just haven't been able to get that big hit. But when you have a high school pitcher (Schingel) that is throwing breaking balls for first-pitch strikes, he's going to get a lot of guys out. And he was tough today, no doubt about it."