Baseball: Bakes powers Huntley over Crystal Lake Central
For 4 1/3 innings, Crystal Lake Central pitcher Nico Acevedo kept Huntley's vaunted offense in check.
His one nemesis was designated hitter Ryan Bakes, who led off the game with a mammoth home run to left field.
In the fifth, Bakes struck again, with a two-run shot to center field that sparked the Red Raiders to a six-run inning. Huntley went on to win, 8-4, in six innings in their Fox Valley Conference baseball game Wednesday at Fred Tipps Field.
There was some confusion initially when the game was called in the bottom of the seventh because of darkness, with Huntley (7-1, 2-0 FVC) leading 13-4 after scoring five in the top of the inning.
Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski found one rule that stated that since it was the second game of the series, the final half-inning would have to be completed. Later, Jakubowski learned from his athletic director Glen Wilson that it reverted to the bottom of the sixth, making it an 8-4 Huntley victory.
"Nico did a tremendous job (against us) and if this is late May, Nico's going out there for 105 pitches and we didn't make very good adjustments early," Jakubowski said. "Until the fifth inning when we started to stay back through the middle of the field. Six of our first nine outs were to the pull side and we were pulling and rolling off of everything.
"The home run to center field I was most proud of because he stayed back through the box."
Bakes remembered pitch sequences from Monday's 5-0 win against Central, in which he was 3 for 4 with a homer, and used that knowledge on Wednesday.
"I've noticed more recently how people pitch me," Bakes said. "On that one, I was sitting more off-speed, hoping to drive it oppo because we had one guy on base. I was looking to move him over at least get him in scoring position.
"I was sitting fastball (on the first one). In the other game, they came fastball first pitch, then go to a slider. I know last game they did that same exact sequence, so that third pitch I knew was a fastball and I sat on it."
Bakes also had an RBI double in the seventh that one-hopped the fence.
Brayden Bakes, Ryan's twin who hits behind him at No. 2, tripled off the center-field fence after him in the fifth.
"Ryan's homer got the momentum going," Brayden Bakes said. "It got everybody going and set the tone for everybody.
"Coach said a lot of outs were pulled, to start shooting the other side of the field. They were living outside and we were rolling over. We started going the opposite way. That's what kind of blew it open."
Tigers coach Andy Deain lifted Acevedo after Bakes' triple and 78 pitches. It was Huntley's fourth hit.
"He was outstanding. I told him on the mound I was taking him out because he was doing a bad job, I took him out because it's the first week of April," Deain said. "No one's pitch counts are up that high and we're not going to put him out there for 100 pitches."
The Tigers are 4-4, 0-2.
Deain thought Acevedo was masterful at throwing first-pitch strikes to put himself in a favorable position.
"I just like to think my stuff's better than yours," Acevedo said. "I tried to start off landing offspeeds for strikes a lot and keep the tempo up. That sets it up for success. Bakes was the only quality at-bat off me."
Acevedo struck out five and walked one.
Central grabbed a 3-2 lead in the second on Braydon Gibour's two-RBI double. Huntley's Andrew Ressler threw three innings and worked a perfect third with two strikeouts, but was at 66 pitches.
Sophomore Malachi Paplanus threw three innings, striking out four and allowing one hit and one unearned run.
"Malachi was awesome," Jakubowski said. "He changed speeds really well, spun it really well, set up his fastball and commanded the zone. He did a really, really good job.
"That's been the mojo of our team, the bullpen has done a really good job, every guy we bring out of there. We ask our starters to give us four, maybe five, then we turn it over to our bullpen."