Dundee-Crown, Hampshire tie
Dundee-Crown and Hampshire have been here before. Both had been involved in multiple extra-inning games and had ties on their records. The Fox Valley Conference foes played to another one as they finished deadlocked at 3-3 after 9 innings in Hampshire Friday.
The teams could possibly be required to complete the game if it affects the conference standings.
The Chargers led 3-0 after 5 innings with lefthander Nick Lodi throttling the Whip-Purs on a pair of singles. But the Whips scored 3 times in the last 2 innings, without the benefit of a hit, to force extra innings.
Tyler Crater walked with one out in the sixth. He stole second and wound up coming around to score after a pair of overthrows.
Lodi walked the No. 8-9 hitters, Justin Thinger and Jacob Kuhn, to start the seventh. After Luke Wians sacrificed them over, Thinger scored on the last of 6 D-C errors, and Kuhn came in on Michael Laramie’s sacrifice fly.
“We’ve become accustomed to playing major league-type games and innings,” said Chargers coach Tommy Parisi. “But in all seriousness, our record is 4-7-2, and we haven’t had a game that has been comfortable either way. We’re right there on everything all season.”
Neither team could get much going in the extra frames, although Crater got as far as third base in the eighth.
The Chargers took an early lead on Dylan Kissack’s RBI single in the fourth. They added 2 more in the sixth on a singe by Mike Hazelhurst and a double by Trent Muscat.
The Chargers could have had more. They loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but got just the one run. They had runners on second and third with one out in both the fifth and sixth but failed to score.
Before the rally, singles by Laramie and Sean O’Shea were the only offense for the Whip-Purs (7-4-2). Thinger pitched 3 innings of hitless relief.
“The thing is about these kids that no matter how many runs they get down, they never give up,” said Hampshire coach John Sarna. “That’s one thing that I’m very proud of because they show a lot of heart. I’ve been part of teams that get down three runs and they put their heads down and there’s nothing you can do. The next thing you know the game’s over.”
Kissack and Hazelhurst finished with 2 hits apiece for the Chargers.
“We went on a losing streak and now we’re on a tying streak,” said Parisi. “So we should have a winning streak here pretty soon.”