No. 2 St. Laurence makes statement, hammers No. 1 Lincoln-Way North in six innings
May 17, 2013
By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer
LISLE – As it turned out, the battle between the top two teams in Illinois wasn’t much of a battle at all.
No. 2 St. Laurence jumped all over its former teammate, Lincoln-Way North ace right-hander Kevin Smith, and went on to crush the top-ranked Phoenix, 14-0, in six innings.
The Vikings (23-7) were victorious in their first game in the second-annual Steven M. Bajenski Memorial Tournament at Benedictine University in Lisle on Thursday afternoon.The loss was the second in the tournament for Lincoln-Way North (29-2-1). In earlier tournament action, the Phoenix lost to Brother Rice 3-1 and drops to the seventh-place consolation bracket.
St. Laurence struck for three runs in the top of the first with a little help from the Phoenix defense. Viking juniors Brad Wood and Nate Tholl singled off of Smith (Creighton). It was the first of four hits for Wood in the game. Junior Mike Kornacker hit a fly ball that was dropped by the Phoenix centerfielder for an error as Wood scampered home with the first of many Viking runs. Sacrifice-flies from senior Zach Lewis (Wabash Valley College) and junior Mike Miller made it 3-0.
The Vikes added a pair of runs in the third, highlighted by a clutch two-out, two RBI single from Austin Peay-bound junior catcher T.J. Marik to increase the Viking lead to 5-0. Wood made it 6-0 with an RBI single in the fourth.
“It’s great beating the No. 1 team that has been ahead of us all year,” said Wood. “Our fans were out in force tonight. Former players, old alumni, it was just great. I owe some of my success to my dad for helping me out with my swing.”
Meanwhile, the Purdue-bound Kornacker was dealing on the mound against the top-ranked Phoenix. The junior had six of his seven strikeouts in the first four innings, allowing just two singles.
“I tried to just go after them and tried to attack the zone,” said Kornacker. “The three runs in the first inning really gave me confidence. My defense was outstanding, making several great plays behind me. Up and down the lineup we really hit the ball well today.”
The Vikings put the game away with an eight-run explosion in the sixth, knocking out Smith and, after Kornacker retired the Phoenix in the bottom of the sixth, the game was mercifully ended.
St. Laurence’s big sixth inning was highlighted by a two-run single from junior centerfielder Kevin White and RBI singles from senior Ryan Rybakowski, Brad Wood, and Roger Wilson.
“We played super in all three phases of the game,” said St. Laurence head coach Pete Lotus. “Mike dominated on the mound for us and our defense was stellar making numerous outstanding plays in the field. Last but not least, we were very aggressive at the plate and it certainly paid off for us.”
This loaded tournament, which features seven of the top 25 ranked teams in Illinois honors the memory of Steven M. Bajenski (1992-2009). “Do it Stevie’s Way” is the slogan for the tournament that bears his name. Stevie was only with us for 17 short years but he sure did it his way. First as a stand-out student at Mount Carmel High School and then as a quality performer for the Caravan varsity baseball team.
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