Baseball: Schaumburg opens with win over Addison Trail
Schaumburg's Kyle Jansen provided enough of a heat wave to jet Schaumburg past Addison Trail 11-2 in five innings Friday in nonconference baseball action at Schaumburg.
With his team leading 4-0 in the bottom of the second, Jansen delivered a bases-loaded double down the line to plate a pair of runs and break the game open early.
"We had bases loaded, I knew we needed to get some runs," Jansen said. "In the cold, every run you get counts. It was cold and everyone was hurting."
Schaumburg, which was making its 2019 season debut, tallied six times in that frame to take an 8-0 lead and the Saxons were able to coast from there.
"It was fun to be out here," said Schaumburg's Tyler Robinson, who had a hit, an RBI and scored 3 runs.
"We had good chemistry out there, even if it was cold. We are a new team and we're trying to find out how good we will be. "
The cold took its toll on both teams as they combined for just 9 hits, but had 15 walks, a hit batter and 5 balks.
"We were happy to be out here, but it was tough," Schaumburg coach Cal Seely said. "I think everyone was trying to hustle through and get through this. It is a reality when you play this time of year and it was equal for both teams."
Fortunately for Schaumburg, the Saxons were the beneficiary of 11 of those walks and also had 6 hits. They did leave nine men on base, but Seely said that the bats were tough enough to get Schaumburg an early lead.
"We talked a lot about being aggressive, especially with this weather," Seely said. "We wanted to get runs early and we did that. It gave us a chance to pitch while ahead. That second inning was huge. If we don't get that hit by Jansen, it could be a totally different day."
Schaumburg's Jack Bahn had a hit and drove in a pair of runs while Albert Kiszka drove in a pair of runs on a fielders choice and a bases-loaded walk.
Addison Trail (1-1), which opened its season with a win over Larkin on Thursday, tried to battle back.
The Blazers' Alex Conrad scored on a balk in the third and Vince Daudein scored on a fielders choice. But Schaumburg's Jake Golliher and Bahn combined to shut them down, limiting Addison Trail to 3 hits.
"We are really happy with the way things went," Seely said. "Our pitchers threw strikes and kept us moving and our defense awake."
Addison Trail coach Mike Kennedy said walks crushed his team.
"When you walk that many guys you are going to struggle," Kennedy said "When you can't find the plate and give teams free baserunners you are going to struggle."
Addison Trail is trying to replace the bulk of its pitching staff from least season as well as some key hitters. Kennedy said that he is looking for his team to improve as the season moves ahead.
"We lost a lot from last year," Kennedy said. "We have some young guys and they need to step up. We will get there. But they didn't give up and they competed the whole time."