Formento blanks Batiava for red-hot Stars

Combine strong pitching, crisp defense, clutch hitting, and solid baserunning, and you have most of the ingredients needed to win baseball games.

When you throw in trying to run through a brick wall as an intangible, you have another reason why St. Charles North (16-7, 10-3) is locked in the middle of an Upstate Eight Conference River Division title chase.

The North Stars kept pace in the loss column with cross-town rival St. Charles East atop the UEC River standings after Thursday’s 5-0 victory over Batavia (11-11, 9-8) in St. Charles.

Senior pitcher Carl Formento (4-1) went the distance for the North Stars, allowing just 5 hits while striking out 5 and walking 2.

Despite allowing a 1-out double to Steve Durham and a 2-out walk to Colby Green in the seventh, Formento recorded the complete-game shutout on a grounder to shortstop Jake Smiley.

“I did not want to take him out of that game,” North Stars coach Todd Genke said of Formento. “He was definitely wearing down a bit but he wanted the ball there for the last out, and that’s obviously what I love to see — the compassion and that will to finish what he started.”

“Our defense was really on today,” said Formento, who threw 97 pitches. “Today was probably one of the best defensive games we’ve played. We turned a double play and made some nice catches.”

Catcher Ryan Thomas recorded the defensive gem of the day in the first inning when he sacrificed his body and crashed into the brick wall surrounding home plate but somehow still hung onto the ball for the second out of the game.

“Our kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now,” said Genke, whose team will play host to Geneva today. “It was a big play. He (Thomas) has played here a lot and he knows it’s a brick wall back there.

“I just congratulated him. Most kids would have come out of the game after that. It did set the tone, and he caught the ball. I don’t know how he did that, either.”

Thomas led off the second with a double, and courtesy runner Kevin Delisi came home with the game’s first run on an RBI double by Adam Delisi.

In the fifth, John Brodner delivered a 2-out RBI single to make it 2-0, before designated hitter Nick Gilmore doubled and Thomas was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Erik Nelson.

The left-handed hitter worked a 3-0 count from Batavia starting pitcher Micah Coffey before a borderline pitch was called for the first strike.

Nelson ripped the next pitch down the right-field line, clearing the bases with his clutch 3-run double and extending the North Stars’ lead to 5-0.

“I was looking middle-in fastball and that’s exactly what he threw,” said Nelson. “It was a little up and I was able to get my hands out, the barrel out and drive it down the line.”

Nelson felt right at home with the bases loaded and 2 out.

“I love being in that situation,” he said. “That’s what I live for.”

“Erik has had a couple big hits like that for us,” said Genke. “When you’re playing well, you get 2-out hits and when you’re struggling those don’t usually come your way.”

Batavia coach Matt Holm commended Coffey for his 5 innings of work in a rare starting assignment.

“He has been in nothing but a relief role so he threw double the number of pitches that he has thrown in any other outing,” said Holm, whose team has been without the services of top pitchers Nick Pappas and Austin Higgins due to nagging injuries.

“We’ve got to have a few guys step up for us on the mound,” added Holm. “I thought Micah did a nice job today and kept us in the game.”