Baseball: Kirchner beats Palatine, keeps Conant in MSL West race
Conant needed a big performance and Franklin Kirchner delivered one.
Kirchner kept Palatine off balance for 5 1/3 innings to lead Conant to a 6-3 win Monday in Palatine.
“Franklin has been great all year,” Conant coach Derek Fivelson said. “I couldn’t ask anything more from him. Every time he goes out there he pumps strikes and competes. He pitches to contact and even got strikeouts today. He pitched every Monday against our opponents’ top pitchers and I am extremely proud of him.”
Kirchner scatted four hits over the first five innings. He kept Palatine off balance with his fastball and change, striking out eight.
Fivelson and his Cougars (17-7, 9-4) needed the win over Palatine (12-15, 9-4 ) to stay in the race in the MSL West. Conant, along with Palatine, are tied for first with Barrington with three games to go after Barrington lost Monday to Schaumburg 8-6.
“We had to win today,” Fivelson said. “Absolutely. And they knew that. We had a rough week last and they all knew that. We needed it badly. Franklin stepped up and we got some timely hitting.”
Conant used that hitting to take a 6-0 lead.
The Cougars plated their first run when Matt Maize reached on a dropped third strike. He would later score on an RBI single by Jacob Szpignanowicz to make it 1-0 in the second.
Conant came up with four runs in the very next inning. Isiah Rhodes and Maize each had RBI singles, Alex Martinez drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and Maize scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
“We all played great today,” said Maize, who had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.
“They had a great pitcher in the mound but we stuck through it. It was a good team win today. I am just looking to get on base and help us get the win.”
The Cougars added an insurance run in the next inning. Logan Gale’s single brought home Josh Barnett, who had walked and advanced to second on Aidan Kovanka’s sacrifice bunt.
Palatine, which overcame a 5-0 deficit on Friday to beat Hersey in extra innings, showed they still had some magic left.
The Pirates struck for a pair of runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2. Ian Sherman’s RBI single scored Toby Peterson, who had singled, and Peter Mulhern, who had walked.
Palatine looked to keep that train rolling in the seventh. They loaded the bases with no outs before David Oddo’s sacrifice fly scored Jett Greiwe, who had reached on an infield single, to make it 6-3.
It appeared the Pirates had Conant on the ropes when Mulhern followed with a sharp single. That should have loaded the bases for Palatine, but a base running gaffe caused the Pirates to give up a baserunner after a rundown. The magic then ran out on a strikeout to end the game.
“You can’t reduce this game down to one inning,” Palatine coach Paul Belo said. “For six innings they did everything they needed to do to be on top of the scoreboard. We got out-competed today. We have a game with them Wednesday. Hopefully, we put ourselves in a position to win.”