Kaneland routs DeKalb behind Stratman's 2 homers
When Nicholas Stratman first arrived at Kaneland High School's baseball field on Tuesday and noticed the 35-mph winds gusting out to left and center field, a huge smile spread across his face.
Weather conditions like this are every cleanup hitter's dream, and the Knights' senior center fielder took full advantage, belting two home runs and racking up four RBI in a 13-3 five-inning Kaneland victory over DeKalb.
The win improved the Knights (8-7 overall) to 4-1 in the Northern Illinois Big XII East as Kaneland strives to dethrone two-time defending conference champion Yorkville and return the league title back to Maple Park, when the Knights earned three straight conference crowns from 2010 to 2012 and claimed the Class 3A state title in 2011.
"I knew it'd be a good day to hit, especially when the wind is blowing out like that," Stratman said of his first two home runs of the season. "You just need to make solid contact and let the wind do the rest."
Stratman wasn't the only Knight who enjoyed the hitter-friendly conditions. After Joseph Panico put Kaneland on the board first with an RBI groundout in the opening inning, Kaneland rang up three more runs in the second.
Designated hitter Jacob Violett ripped a double to left that plated first baseman Danny Hammermeister, who also had doubled, and Jake Marczuk lined the team's third double of the inning to the center field wall to score Matthew Rosko and Violett.
Kaneland bumped its lead to 5-0 in the third on Stratman's solo homer over the wall in left-center field. DeKalb (13-7) drew within 5-3 in the fourth thanks in part to an error and a wild pitch, then appeared ready to inch closer in the fifth when pitcher A.J. Hopp quickly recorded two outs in the bottom of the fourth and had an 0-2 count on Kaneland's Austin Wheatley. But the Knights' leadoff hitter showed patience in eventually drawing a walk, sparking a five-run rally that gave Kaneland a 10-3 lead. Panico drove in two runs with a double, catcher Joseph Laudont rapped an RBI single up the middle, and Stratman delivered a booming two-run homer that soared about 15 feet beyond the center field fence.
"That's why Austin is our leadoff hitter," coach Brian Aversa said. "He'll do whatever it takes to get on base for us. His walk totally took their momentum away from them, and the guys behind him did their jobs as well. It was a good response from our team."
Junior southpaw Matt O'Sullivan set down the Barbs in the top of the fifth before the Knights came up with three more runs to win the game by the 10-run rule. Violett crushed a two-run homer over the left field fence that plated Rosko, and, after Panico singled and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, Laudont walked and Stratman fittingly ended the game with a long single that landed just shy of the center field fence, scoring Panico.
Stratman's 3 hits led a 15-hit attack.
Kaneland has now compiled 25 runs in its last two games after knocking off DeKalb 12-1 on Monday. By contrast, the team had scored just 12 total runs in its four games prior to Monday. The Knights go for the series sweep on Thursday in DeKalb.
"We're finally putting up runs," Aversa said. "We're getting consistent hitting now. That's a key for us."
O'Sullivan scattered four hits in evening his record at 2-2 on the season.
"Matt pitched really well," Aversa said of the junior left-hander. "The wind was hard stuff to deal with, but he was very efficient today."