Glenbard West tops Wheaton Academy in opener

A good cooking recipe needs the right ingredients, and so does a baseball team if it wants to win a game.

Glenbard West had all the right combinations Thursday afternoon at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago as it took on the Warriors in the season-opening game for both teams.

The Hilltoppers got very good pitching with just enough offense to prevail 3-1. Glenbard West reached a Class 4A sectional final last season, and the team was ready to get 2012 started.

“I’m excited at how hard this team works,” said Hilltoppers coach Brian Wojtun. “I enjoy coming to work every day to coach these kids.”

The difference in the game was the third inning. The Hilltoppers went into their half of it, trailing 1-0. Grant Greeno led off reaching on an infield hit. His groundball went down the middle, stopping in the outer reaches of the infield, just out of reach of the second baseman and shortstop. With one out and Greeno in scoring position at second, sophomore Hayden Carlson’s bunt turned into an infield hit and put him at first and moved Greeno to third.

A sacrifice fly to right by Myles Purdom plated Greeno and that set the stage for Ryan Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh deposited a 2-2 pitch over the fence between left field and center for two more runs and that 3-1 lead.

“It was a fastball. My swing has been good. I worked on lots of stuff in the off-season to help make my swing better,” Kavanaugh said.

Junior starter Tyler Curtis was the winning pitcher. He went 5 innings and allowed just one hit, Wheaton Academy’s Alex McNally’s 2-1 blast over the left-field fence gave the Warriors their lone run. Curtis struck out 10.

Curtis is glad to have a full season ahead of him after missing most of 2011 with an arm injury..

“It’s great (to win opening day). It’s nice to be back out,” he said.

Teammate Tyler Dayton finished up the game for a save.

While Wheaton Academy finished with just two hits, its pitching kept Glenbard West to just one hit after the big third inning.

Warriors coach Brad Byrne had praise for both junior starter Jake Cousins, who pitched three innings, and senior Cori Herbert, a transfer from Guerin Prep, who worked the final four innings.

“Jake is our No. 2 starter. I thought he threw great. One pitch was his only mistake,” Byrne said. “The only reason Jake left the game was he was on a pitch count, about 45.”

Wheaton Academy got its second and final hit of the afternoon in the seventh when Trevor Swaney led off with a single to left. An error on an attempted double play made him safe at second, and Herbert reached on a fielder’s choice on the same play to put men on first and second. But the Warriors went down in order after that.

Byrne is confident of Wheaton Academy’s offense this season, which includes the return of last season’s Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division Player of the Year Swaney, who hit over .450 in 2011.

“We have eight returning starters. I’m excited about this team,” he said. “Their pitcher was on today. He had a good curveball and fastball. His curveball kept us off-balance. The hits will come.”