Extended play for Lake Zurich's comeback kids
Lake Zurich's baseball team has perfected the comeback.
The Bears are so good at it that they're coming back again today.
After rallying for 5 runs in the top of the sixth to beat Warren 5-2 in Gurnee on Tuesday, Lake Zurich spotted visiting Warren a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half Wednesday. But the Bears chipped away at their deficit, scoring once in the bottom of the second, twice in the fifth and two more times in the seventh to force extra innings.
After the eighth was completed, with the score tied 5-5, the North Suburban Lake Division game was suspended due to darkness.
It will be resumed at 4:45 p.m. today at Lake Zurich with Warren batting in the top of the ninth.
“We need some lights or something,” Warren leadoff hitter Anthony Garza said after going 3-for-4 with a double and being stranded in scoring position in the top of the eighth.
Lake Zurich (9-2, 1-0), too, had a great scoring chance in its half of the eighth. But Blue Devils reliever Kyle Kennedy got a strikeout to end the inning, which started with speedy John Orlando reaching on an error before being bunted to second by Sean Eder.
As they demonstrated on their Spring Break trip to Branson, Mo., as well, the Bears believe no deficit is too great.
“Absolutely,” said cleanup-hitting Collin Roto, whose two-out RBI single in the seventh tied the score. “Even when we're down, the bench is up all seven (innings), never giving up the fight.”
Joey Pizzolato started Lake Zurich's seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single. Warren coach Clint Smothers then called on Kennedy to face Bears leadoff batter James DeGeorge after starting pitcher Adam Reuss threw ball one.
Kennedy walked DeGeorge on three straight pitches, before Jacob LaRue's bunt moved up both runners. Tanner Kiser (1-for-4, 2 RBI) knocked in Pizzolato with a groundball. Roto then singled sharply into right field, scoring DeGeorge.
On the previous pitch, Roto fouled a ball off his ankle, necessitating a visit by the athletic trainer. There was no way the senior was not going to finish his at-bat.
“I got up right as she walked out (onto the field),” Roto said with a laugh. “Maybe the adrenaline was just going or something.”
Dominic DeMicco singled Roto to second base, but Kennedy got a foul popout to extend the game.
“Reuss gave us a chance to win it,” Smothers said of his starter, who struck out seven and allowed 6 hits and 4 runs (1 earned) in his 6-plus innings. “We got to come in and close the door. We just haven't been able to do that this year.
“We knew it would take time, and we're getting there,” Smothers added. “We're young, and it is what it is. I'm proud of these guys for coming out and playing the way they did.”
Warren (3-5-1, 0-1) scored three times in the top of the first off Lake Zurich lefty Wyatt Spector, starting the game with Garza's double, Ben Dinter's single and Pat Kenney's RBI fielder's choice. After a groundout, Adam Glogovsky tripled in Kenney, and when the throw from right field short-hopped the cutoff man, Glogovsky turned on the jets and sped home.
Singles by Ryan Johnson (2-for-3) and Garza and an error helped the Blue Devils score twice in the second.
But Lake Zurich got an RBI groundout from Anthony Drago in its half of the second and a fielder's choice RBI from Kiser in a 2-run fifth to get back in the game.
“We just got to play our full game,” Garza said. “We usually come out (strong) early. Teams always stick with us, and we can't have that.”