Clutch hitting helps Glenbard North get in front vs. Batavia

Batavia appeared in good shape to limit the Glenbard North first-inning damage Monday afternoon at home.

But Glenbard North had the answer for any baseball team, no matter what level the game is played. The Panthers had three two-out singles in a 4-batter sequence to take a 5-run, first-inning lead, and it only became worse for error-prone Batavia in nonconference action.

Glenbard North feasted on an array of Batavia miscues, scoring almost at will - despite not a single extra-base hit - in a mercy-rule-shortened, 15-3 5-inning victory.

"Two-out hits were huge for us today," said Glenbard North coach Rich Smelko, whose club improved to 5-2 behind an opportunistic offense and solid pitching from senior southpaw Kyle Rachal. "We didn't hit too many balls hard. (Batavia) definitely helped us out a lot today."

After Ryan Sabalaskey scored on an infield dribbler in the top of the first for Glenbard North, Evin Natick, Jake Kline and Brandon Villanueva all had two-out base hits and Brandon Clark was hit by a pitch to produce a quick 5-0 lead.

"I just wanted to get a hit, get my job done and get those runs in," said Villanueva, the Panthers' No. 8 hitter who plated Clark and Kline with his seeing-eye single to left. "We've got that killer instinct. We don't let up."

The remainder of the truncated game was an unmitigated disaster for Batavia (1-4), which is coming off a sectional-championship season - albeit with an entirely new look due to heavy graduation losses.

"There's not much you can say after that," Batavia coach Matt Holm said. "I'm tired of talking about (the turnover rate). We've still got guys who have played the game, can make a throw from across the diamond."

Rachal induced an inning-ending double play in the Bulldogs first, and Glenbard North scored 10 more times over the next four innings. During the onslaught, Glenbard North senior center fielder Dave Wolak and Sabalaskey were the only players credited with an actual RBI as the remaining 8 runs crossed home on either errant throws or wild pitches.

Rachal made his season debut as a starter, baffling the Batavia batters with a rising fastball and quick-moving breaking pitches.

"I felt like I was in the zone out there today," Rachal said. "I didn't think anyone could hit me."

The southpaw made a lone mistake, which Batavia junior Nick Baltrano parked over the left-field fence for a 2-run, second-inning home run. But the Bulldogs' advantage was short-lived as aggressiveness on the bases by Glenbard North triggered its closing run.

"The first 12 runs they scored were with two outs," Holm said of the central storyline.