South Elgin’s Palmer mows down Larkin

South Elgin pitcher David Palmer’s curveball was murder on right-handed hitters in a 6-0 Upstate Eight Conference victory over visiting Larkin Tuesday.

A right-handed pitcher facing a predominantly right-handed lineup, Palmer routinely froze Larkin hitters with a sweeping curveball that caught the inside portion of the plate. He also mixed a devastating changeup in with a well-located fastball to keep the Royals from mounting an offensive challenge.

“I just try to start it close to their hands and it breaks down,” Palmer (2-1) said of his curveball. “Sometimes it’s more (a sidearm delivery). I guess it depends on what day it is and which way the wind is blowing.”

Palmer held Larkin (3-5, 0-1) to 1 hit in 6-plus innings. He fanned 10 and walked 4, including the last two hitters he faced before he was relieved in the top of the seventh with no outs.

“He threw well, and that’s the bottom line,” Larkin coach Matt Esterino said of Palmer. “You tip your cap any time that happens, but we have to change our offensive approach. Our swings are too long and we’re just not playing pepper with the ball the way we’re capable of. We have an intelligent team. We’ll make the adjustments.”

Palmer didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning. Larkin’s Chris Guzeman ended the no-hit bid by drilling a fastball through the hole at shortstop for a clean single with one away.

“I really didn’t know he had a no-no going,” Guzeman said. “A couple of guys told me when I got to the dugout. He was throwing me fastballs most of the day, so I was just waiting on it. He’s a good pitcher.”

Junior reliever Alex Wolfe, making his first varsity appearance for South Elgin (4-1, 1-0), subsequently struck out the next three Royals to end the game.

South Elgin grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third inning against Larkin starting pitcher Austin Royse (0-3), who allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits. The Storm collected 5 of their 8 hits in the inning, including a 2-run single by Ryan Ford (2-for-2, walk), a run-scoring double by Michael Murphy (2-for-4) and cleanup man Jake Buhman’s RBI single through a drawn-in infield.

“I missed a safety squeeze with runners and first and third and one out, so once I got 2 strikes I was looking left side,” Ford said of his two-run single to left field. “The 2 RBIs are nice, so it worked out.”

South Elgin scored 2 unearned runs in the fifth inning, courtesy of a Larkin error at first base with two outs and the bases loaded.