Kaneland edges Batavia on special night for all

Already getting together for a good cause, Kaneland and Batavia’s baseball teams treated their fans that came out to Fifth Third Bank Ballpark Friday night with plenty of good plays, too.

The Knights hosted the Bulldogs and as coach Brian Aversa has done each year also turned the evening into a fundraiser for a family in need.

This year the proceeds go to the Bridget Sweeney family to help Sweeney — a teacher at Kaneland High School — and her battle with cancer.

“Brian does a great job of putting this together,” Batavia coach Matt Holm said. “We’re honored he has us. It’s fun.”

Holm said that even after his team came up on the short end of a 2-1 score in a game that featured good pitching from both sides, even better defensive plays, and a few calls that had each team thinking were missed. Both teams also were able to celebrate their Senior Nights.

Nobody had a better night than the trio of Kaneland seniors who split the pitching duties. Trevor Storck started and worked the first three innings to improve to 6-0, Drew Peters returned from injury to pitch the next two innings, and Bryan VanBogaert tossed the final two.

“All of us came in and did our job and held them to one run,” Storck said. “We love playing Batavia. They are a great school, they are always good at baseball. And we always want to come out and get a big victory.”

Kaneland (23-9) scored its only runs in the second inning off Batavia starter Steven Patterson. Trever Heinle led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a Jordan Jones fly ball and scored on a wild pitch.

Quinn Buschbacher drove in what proved to be the game-winning run with a double to score Joe Pollastrini who had been hit by a pitch.

Batavia (17-16) then scored its only run in the top of the third on singles from Billy Zwick and Anthony Carby and Laren Eustace’s sacrifice fly.

Both teams had chances over the final four innings to put more runs on the scoreboard but the defenses always came up with the plays to thwart rallies.

Batavia’s best chance came in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs. Austin Higgins ripped a shot to left field but right at Buschbacher, the second time he robbed Higgins after earlier racing in for a diving catch to take a hit away in the second inning.

Batavia’s left fielder Sam Burnoski had a gem of his own in the fifth. Ray Barry stole third and when the throw got away down the line, Barry got up and started home. Burnoski fired a bullet to catcher Steve Durham who applied the tag to barely get Barry.

In the sixth, Batavia relief pitcher Brandon O’Kray fully laid out to catch Buschbacher’s bunt and then threw to third to double off the runner for an inning-ending double play.

“We ended up getting out of a couple jams and I think that’s mainly because we just play good, solid, strong defense,” Holm said. “We played pretty good baseball.”

So has Aversa’s crew who last week won their first outright conference championship. They are now just four wins away from setting a new school season record, and next week they will begin defense of their 2011 Class 3A state championship.

“It’s been special,” Aversa said. “(A) 13-2 (record) in a tough conference. That’s what makes us so much better is we play tough competition day in and day out. And we try to schedule tough on the weekends, tough in the preseason. We want to see the best before the regionals.”

Both teams had a player with 2 hits — Zwick and Pollastrini. Both teams also have two games left before regionals — Batavia plays Morris and Wheaton North, and Kaneland travels to West Aurora and St. Charles East.