Jacobs finds the holes, downs Cary-Grove

Success in baseball means hitting 'em where they ain't.

Jacobs did and Cary-Grove didn't, which is why the Golden Eagles walked away with a 9-4 victory in the Valley Division opener for both Fox Valley Conference teams in Algonquin Saturday.

Cary-Grove, which had scored 47 total runs the previous three days against Johnsburg (22), Prairie Ridge (12) and Crystal Lake Central (13), was held to 2 runs through the first 6 innings by Jacobs left-handed starting pitcher Ryan Lesner (3-0).

Cary-Grove hit into 7 line-drive outs against Lesner, who used his fastball, changeup and an alert defense to complete the 7-hitter.

"They were really good," Lesner said of the Trojans (12-4, 0-1). "I just tried to mix it up. Our defense played really, really well today. They were just hitting liners at us and we made every play."

Said C-G coach Don Sutherland: "They hit some line drives and hit them into the gaps; We hit line drives at people."

Jacobs (6-2, 1-0) used a 9-hit attack that included 2-run home runs from Jon Amann and Matt Igara to break open a game it led 3-0 after an inning.

Jacobs bolted to that 3-0 cushion thanks to a combination of aggressive baserunning and wildness from Cary-Grove pitcher Ben Mottashed (3-3), who threw 3 wild pitches, walked a man and gave up 2 hits in the first.

A walk and 2 wild pitches set the stage for Matt Igara, who singled sharply to drive in Mike Castillo from third with the game's first run. Following another wild pitch and a groundout, Bobby Molinaro scored Igara with an infield hit.

Molinaro promptly stole second, and the errant throw went into the outfield and skipped beyond Cary-Grove's center fielder, allowing Molinaro to slide head-first ahead of the relay throw and establish a 3-0 Jacobs lead.

"One of the nice things, from my standpoint, is that we do have a lot of good athletes and a fair amount of team speed," first-year Jacobs coach Eric Sanders said. "When opportunities present themselves, our runners are in position to take advantage of that."

Cary-Grove pulled within 3-1 in the third inning when Kyle Williams cranked his fourth home run of the season, a line drive that cleared the wall in right field.

But Jacobs answered right back with 4 runs in its half of the third. After Castillo singled with one out, Igara launched an opposite field home run just inside the foul pole in right field for a 5-1 lead.

Molinaro and Brandon Stroh each singled with two outs, putting runners at second and third. Both later scored on wild pitches for a 7-1 Jacobs lead.

The Golden Eagles took complete control in the fourth when Patton Hofer singled ahead of Amann's 2-run blast to left-center field off lefty reliever Sean Kaveney, making the score 9-1. Kaveney then retired 9 of the next 11 batters he faced without allowing a hit.

Cary-Grove scored twice in the seventh inning on 3 hits and a walk, but Lesner induced a groundout with runners at first and third to end the game.

"They hit the ball, as did we," Cary-Grove's Williams said. "We just happened to hit it at people. They hit the ball hard and hit it where we weren't.

"Not to take any credit away from them, their pitcher did a great job. They hit the ball well and played solid defensively. They just played a little better than we did today."

The teams will rematch Monday in Cary.