Baseball: Two-inning feast lifts York past Benet
Feast or famine worked again for York's baseball team.
The Dukes put together all their hits and runs in the third and fourth innings of Tuesday's 8-4 victory over Benet in Lisle.
Bunching runs has become a habit for York early this season, and it's helped the Dukes win four of their five games so far. At some point soon, though, coach Dave Kalal knows his team needs consistency from inning to inning.
Formidable Lyons Twp. looms in the opening series of the West Suburban Silver, and Kalal wants the Dukes to be prepared to compete in every inning.
"We've got to compete one through seven, not just in the middle couple of innings," Kalal said. "You've got to get that fire in your belly when you're up that you want to keep adding on. But we're seeing some good things and we're getting a lot of guys in there. That's what the season is all about before conference starts."
Mississippi State-bound shortstop Ryan Ross keyed both innings for York (4-1) with a 2-run double in the third and a 2-run single that sparked a 5-run fourth. Ross accounted for half the 4 hits by the Dukes, who took advantage of 9 walks and 2 hit batters.
"Once we get a good inning going it just goes down the line and gets contagious," Ross said. "Everybody keeps it going. We've had some big innings this year with a lot of runs."
Ian Steinorth's bases-loaded walk and Joey Orrico's sacrifice fly provided the Dukes with fourth-inning insurance against Benet (0-4), which doubled York's hit total.
Andrew Prisby, Aaron Staehely and Jack Schneider doubled in runs to creep the Redwings closer, but York winning pitcher Charlie Pakenas gutted through 5 innings. Relievers Kellen Gilmartin and Scott Tucker closed out the win.
"If you give up freebies against the teams we're playing, it's going to be tough to win games," said Benet coach Scott Lawler. "If we clean that up we'll be in every game. Our guys are willing to work at it and we'll get back to the drawing board."
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