Manske, St. Charles E. shuts out Hoffman Estates
Len Asquini is no stranger to postseason victories, having guided St. Charles East’s baseball team to a Class AA state championship in 1999 — the first of 4 consecutive 30-plus win campaigns for the Saints.
However, it had been awhile between playoff wins for Asquini, who stepped down from the helm following the 2003 season before returning to his familiar spot in the dugout this spring.
Senior left-hander Kyle Manske tossed a complete-game shutout, while Johnny Hondlik knocked in 3 runs and Nicholas Erickson had a pair of doubles and 2 RBI to help lead the Saints (24-10) to a 5-0 Class 4A regional semifinal triumph over 14th-seeded Hoffman Estates (18-17) in St. Charles.
“It’s nice to get a postseason win, especially at home,” said Asquini, whose last playoff victory before Wednesday came nearly 10 years ago (8-0 over Moline at the NIU supersectional) during the Saints’ state quarterfinal run.
The third-seeded Saints used some daring base running to jump out to a 2-0 first-inning lead.
Jordan Hayes sliced a 1-out double down the right-field line and wound up at third base after the Hawks’ outfielder misplayed the ball.
After Hoffman Estates starter Mark Roberts plunked Joe Hoscheit with a pitch, Hoscheit promptly stole second — the first of 3 stolen bases for the Saints.
Hondlik then hit a slow chopper to the left side that Hawks third baseman Ethan Bloom fielded and threw to first for the second out. While Hayes scored easily from third on the play, Hoscheit never hesitated and raced home with the Saints’ second run.
“We took a chance,” admitted Asquini. “Like we told the kids, what Joe did well was he kept coming around (third base). He saw me deep (in the coaches’ box) and kept coming. Joe made that play happen, and Johnny put the ball in play.
“I thought those first two runs were a real big boost for us,” added the coach, “and then we just kept trying to add on.”
Hondlik’s RBI single in the third upped the lead to 3-0 before Erickson’s 2-run double down the first-base line in the fourth provided additional insurance for the Saints, who capitalized on the Hawks’ 4 errors.
Manske (8-1) didn’t need too much help, as he allowed just 6 hits while fanning 6 and not walking a batter.
“When I get a guy (umpire) who helps me paint the outside corner, I live with that all day long,” said Manske.
“Kyle was around the plate all day,” Asquini said of Manske. “He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and getting ahead allowed him to play with the zone a little bit.”
Bloom had a pair of singles for the Hawks.
“Unfortunately there’s really nothing positive I can say,” said Hoffman Estates coach Todd Meador, whose team finished 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. “We made some very costly mistakes and they took advantage of them.
“Manske deserves a lot of credit,” added Meador. “We didn’t hit a lot of balls square today.”
St. Charles East will shoot for its third consecutive regional title Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s regional semifinal clash between Glenbard North and Glenbard East.