Baseball: Big inning lifts Glenbard South past Glenbard East
Glenbard South had a feeling one crooked number on the scoreboard wouldn't be enough.
The Raiders decided to add another.
A 5-run sixth inning broke a tie and powered Glenbard South to Wednesday's 9-4 victory over Glenbard East in Lombard as the Raiders took two of three in their Upstate Eight Conference baseball series.
All nine players in the Raiders' lineup had at least 1 hit. All but two scored a run.
"We had some great timely hitting," said Raiders outfielder Jacob Cyrus, who went 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI. "Everyone kind of put the pieces together and it was a great team win. It's a little streaky, but when we're on at the plate, it's hard to beat us."
Each team scored in three different innings but the Raiders (14-8, 10-4) strung together more hits with traffic on the bases. Cyrus doubled in a run and Cooper Wilson tripled in another as part of a 3-run top of the third.
The real damage came in the sixth with the score tied 4-4. Mason Barnick laced a 2-run single with Cyrus, Michael Nathe and Easton Lange adding RBI hits.
Glenbard East (14-7, 10-4) still didn't seem out of it, not with its own constant traffic. The Rams put six runners on base in the final three innings but couldn't push across a run.
"Baseball comes down to timely hitting," said Rams coach Joel Pelland. "We didn't have it today and they did. I really believe our offense has the potential and the ability to put up runs quick. But it comes down to timely hitting."
Drew Vozza spotted the Raiders to a 1-0 first-inning lead with an RBI groundout, but Joe Hamilton's run-scoring single tied it in the bottom of the inning. With the Rams trailing 4-1, Hamilton launched a 2-run third-inning homer before Jeremy Johnson's RBI single tied it 4-4 in the fourth.
Sophomore Ty Klayum was the winning pitcher in relief of fellow sophomore Richie Villa.
"These are always fun games to play, especially against a good team and a rival," said Glenbard South coach Marco Eufrasio. "We deliver a punch and they punch back. And then we're able to give that knockout blow and shut the door with a couple sophomore pitchers."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit