Baseball: Willowbrook snaps skid, beats Addison Trail
Cam Zunkel wanted the shutout but gladly settled for the victory.
With Willowbrook mired in a five-game losing streak? Yeah ... he'll definitely take the victory.
Battling wind, rain and cold, Zunkel and visiting Willowbrook beat Addison Trail 6-1 in Saturday's West Suburban Gold baseball matchup shortened from a doubleheader to a single game because of the nasty weather.
The series continues Monday and concludes Tuesday in a makeup of Saturday's second game.
"We were in a five-game skid so it was nice to come out here and get a win against a good team like Addison Trail," said Zunkel, committed to University of Illinois-Springfield. "We definitely have that potential to turn our season around and make a run. A win like this is good for us."
Behind a 2-run first inning and 4-run fourth, the senior right-hander cruised while striking out 10, walking two, scattering 4 hits - two by Blazers shortstop Angelo Feola - and allowing no earned runs.
Addison Trail (9-10, 4-6) scored its lone run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on Trevor Fulmer's infield single with runners on second and third. The game ended on the play when a runner rounding third was caught in a rundown after slipping on the soaked grass.
Other than the seventh, Zunkel didn't allow more than one baserunner in any inning.
"You had a guy on the mound who was hitting on all cylinders," said Addison Trail coach Mike Kennedy. "We've got to be able to step up and compete with a guy like that on the mound. We weren't able to do that today."
Kyle Martyniuk started the game with a 2-run double for the Warriors (8-12, 5-5). The score remained 2-0 until Willowbrook scored 4 two-out runs in the fourth inning. Jon Kelso doubled in a run and T.J. Geritano singled home 2 runs.
"Any time you've got (Zunkel) going, you feel confident," said Willowbrook coach Vic Wisner. "When you get a win after five straight losses, anything will do. We had to do all the little things to get it done, so that was good for us."
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