Baseball: Seven-run inning keys Lake Park's win over St. Charles North
Everything worked perfectly for Lake Park in the third inning on Monday afternoon.
After a spring filled with mostly cold, cloudy skies or rain, the Lancers welcomed a relatively warm afternoon filled with runs.
The Lancers scored seven runs in the bottom of the third to pull out an 11-9 win over St. Charles North.
The Lancers (4-13, 2-9 DuKane Conference) belted 12 hits to win for the second time in their last three games. A year after placing second in Class 4A, Lake Park coach Dan Colucci admitted it's been a strange season following heavy graduation losses.
"We've been in every game this year," Colucci said. "We're kind of an inexperienced team. We've found ways to lose, so it's nice we stuck around and hung on to win this one. When you've been struggling in a season, fighting the weather and all this other stuff, you just have to go out and play good games. Our goal is to find the combination that will give us the best shot in the playoffs."
The Lancers had contributions up and down the lineup, with Marco Annecca banging out 2 hits, Danny Rollins adding 2 hits and 3 RBI, JC Ahlstedt batting 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and a home run, and David Deimling with 2 hits and an RBI.
Rollins said the Lancers are aiming to build momentum for the playoffs, noting the win over the North Stars (12-8, 7-4).
"We've had a lead in pretty much every game this year except maybe one or two, so to get a win like this will just spark something for this team," Rollins said. "We have a lot more to come from this team. We know we can battle with any team. Our team is all about energy. It's a great feeling when you have guys on the bench. That (third inning) was probably our biggest inning of the year, and to put something up like that against a quality team feels really good. It's a great feeling. We have to keep playing together and keep our energy up, then we can be a hard team to beat."
Ahlstedt, a second-year varsity player, helped the Lancers keep the lead, drilling a solo home run over the left-field fence in the fourth. He added an RBI double to the right-field warning track in the fifth. His home run was his second of the season.
"It's nice to see all the hard work in the offseason is paying off," Ahlstedt said. "We've been struggling. This win feels great. It's nice to see it all pay off. We can use this win to start a domino effect. We have to stay focused and not let off the gas and play hard."
The North Stars nearly mounted an impressive comeback, erasing a 9-4 deficit with a five-run sixth inning. Parker Reinke kicked off the scoring spree with a two-run with the bases loaded to deep right field. Chris Graziano added an RBI single.