Dundee-Crown holds off DeKalb

DeKalb got to Dundee-Crown starter Mike Lodi early.

But every time the Barbs were able to put some runs on the board, the Chargers’ bats answered right back.

After the teams exchanged the lead four times in the first three innings, Dundee-Crown took the lead for good with a 2-run fourth inning and eventually held off DeKalb 8-7 in a semifinal game of the Class 4A Huntley regional.

The Barbs made a run in the seventh, scoring 2 runs to cut the Chargers’ lead to 8-7. Jordan Kalous picked up the save getting Patrick Aves to fly out to end the game.

“We just kept coming back,” said Lodi, now 6-2 for the season. “Out bats were nonstop. I was throwing the ball up. In the fourth inning it finally slowed down a little bit.”

The Chargers (18-7) now face Huntley for the regional championship at 11 a.m. Saturday. D-C swept the regular season series.

And it hopes to bring its active bats from Friday night to Saturday’s party.

Center fielder Jake Romano nailed a pair of home runs in the first and fourth innings to help keep the Chargers’ offense rolling.

DeKalb (22-14) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a 2-run home run from Jake Jouris (4-for-4). Romano responded with a 3-run homer to right-center field in the bottom of the inning.

Romano nailed his second dinger of the game in the fourth, this time a shot to right off DeKalb starter Cody Varga (7-3).

“We all had (the bats) going today,” said Romano, who had hit 2 home runs during the regular season. “Everyone was hitting really well today.”

Dundee-Crown hit Varga 10 times in the win. Catcher Dylan Kissack doubled in the third, which led to courtesy runner Thomas McNally scoring. Nick Spagnola also singled and scored in the inning.

“I don’t know if it was penned up aggression from it finally warming up, but everyone hit the ball well,” Chargers’ coach Jon Sawyer said.

The Barbs hit the ball well early on as well, but were just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position prior to Daniel Petras nailing a 2-run single off Kalous. DeKalb left 6 runners stranded on base in the third, fourth and fifth innings, with runners on third in the third and fourth.

“They were able to get a couple more big hits,” DeKalb coach Jacobs Howells said. “We had chances where a big hit could have helped us out.”