Baseball: Rodriguez pitches Streamwood past Larkin
On a day where the howling winds were blowing straight out to center and right-center, Streamwood sophomore pitcher Miguel Rodriguez was on a mission to throw strikes and keep the ball in the park.
Rodriguez did just that, tossing 5 innings of 2-run ball with no walks and 5 strikeouts, during the Sabres' 8-2 Upstate Eight Conference baseball victory over Larkin (2-7, 1-5) Thursday afternoon in Elgin.
"I just threw strikes like I always do," said Rodriguez, who allowed 5 hits before giving way to junior reliever Nick Weaver. "I just tried to pound the zone consistently."
Listed on the Sabres' roster at 5-foot-4, 137 pounds, Rodriguez admitted that pitching into the wind offered its share of challenges.
"There was one time where I had to step off - there was just too much wind," said Rodriguez.
Streamwood (3-4, 2-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second on Antonio Alanis' bases-loaded walk off Royals starting pitcher Carlos Delgado, then added 3 more runs in the third, highlighted by Kevin Lunz' RBI single and Jacob Gama's 2-run double.
"The big hit was Jacob's double in the (right-center) gap," said Sabres coach Dan Jennings. "He gave us some life."
Larkin cut the deficit in half with 2 runs in the bottom of the third.
Sophomore Moises Acosta got hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a double by Javier Cervantes before scoring the Royals' first run on a wild pitch. Junior Anthony Mora's single drove in Cervantes to make it 4-2.
"We showed some life, but you have to do a better job of putting more innings together," said Royals coach Niko Morado.
Streamwood answered with a 2-run fourth that included RBI singles from Weaver (2 for 3, double) and Josh Wilder, then put the game out of reach on Lunz' 2-run single in the sixth.
Lunz led the Sabres' offense, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.
"Kevin (Lunz) has been swinging the bat for us, and Nick (Weaver) has done a good job at the plate as well," said Jennings. "Chris Lara and Miguel Rodriguez have been getting on base, and Richard Santiago hit his first home run the other day.
"We've got some things to work on with guys on second and third and less than two outs."
Jennings was impressed with the work of his starting pitcher and defensive effort.
"Miguel is a bulldog," said the coach. "He's unflappable. He does a great job throwing strikes, and when guys get on base, he zones in. He throws at the bottom of the zone, so you see a lot of groundballs."
A total of 17 of the Royals' 21 outs came via either a strikeout or groundball - a good thing when the wind is blowing out.
"I thought our pitchers did a really good job of throwing strikes and challenging," said Jennings. "When we had to make plays, we made plays."
Mora went 2-for-3 for the Royals, who received 5 solid innings of relief from sophomore Logan Leaver (7 strikeouts).
"Logan came in and did a good job of keeping us in it," said Morado. "Hopefully next time, we can give him more support."