Schaumburg overcomes, downs No. 21 Barrington

May 14, 2014

By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

Barrington - After losing a possible victory at home on Monday, and home-field advantage in the make-up game with Barrington to Mother Nature, Schaumburg head coach Cal Seely surely must have felt the baseball gods were not smiling on him and his Saxons. Unfazed by their misfortune, the Saxons rolled into Coach Kirby Smith Field and smashed the host Broncos, 8-3, on Tuesday to move into a first-place tie with No. 21 Barrington (23-7; 10-3) in the Mid-Suburban League’s Western Division.

On Monday, the Saxons had a 3-1 lead with one out in the bottom of the fourth, three-outs away from an official game, when Mother Nature unleashed a severe thunderstorm upon Schaumburg. Well, at least the Saxons would be home in Schaumburg for Tuesday’s make-up game, right? Nope. Mother Nature struck again on Monday night with a torrential downpour that made for unplayable conditions at the home field of the Saxons, thus the change in venue to Kirby Smith Field.

The Saxons came out swinging in the first inning and scored three times to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Senior cleanup man Mike Fan ripped an RBI single to get the Saxons on the board. With two out, senior Jack Holden smashed a clutch two-out, two-run double scoring Fan and senior Ryan Woloszyk, who had singled.

“We came in really focused to pick up the win today,” said Holden. “I came up to the plate with those two runners on and I had to bring them home. I took the pitch the other way.”

The Saxons picked up an unearned run in the second inning to extend their lead to 4-0. Barington (23-7; 10-3) ran themselves out of a possible big inning in the bottom of the third. Junior leadoff man Mitch Pfeiffer singled and was promptly picked off by Schaumburg starting and winning junior Brendan Beck (6-0). Senior Shane Yorton followed with a booming double and he was shot down at second base on a fielder's choice on a ball hit by junior Jake Peterson. Peterson hit a smash to Saxon third baseman Woloszyk and it appeared that Peterson was going to reach on an infield hit. Yorton rounded second base a bit too far, as the alert Woloszyk fired a strike to Saxon second baseman Alex Kiszkowski who put the tag on the befuddled Yorton.

The Broncos scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to close within a run at 4-3. No. 8 Bronco hitter senior Dan Kubiuk and No.9 hitter senior Joey Sciaccotta came through with clutch RBI singles to bring the Broncos within 4-2. Yorton plated the third Bronco run of the inning on a fielder’s choice.

With all the momentum seemingly heading in the direction of the host Broncos, the resilient Saxons showed their mettle in the top of the fifth. Saxon leadoff man senior Bradley Schwind coaxed a walk out of Barrington’s starting pitcher Anthony Dilaurentis (5-2). After one out, Woloszyk also walked. Schaumburg’s Fan followed with the play of the game. Fan hammered a three-run bomb that soared over the right-field fence to bust this game open once again at 7-3. The Saxons would add another unearned run on an RBI single from their No.9 hitter, senior Joe Franz.

“We played really well today and we really wanted to beat Barrington today,” said Fan. “Great defense today, and we had timely hitting It was an all-around team win. I came up with first and second and originally I just wanted to get them over. On 3-2 he left one up and I was able to take it out of here.”

The revitalized Beck went on to retire 11 Bronco batters in a row before giving up a single to Peterson in the seventh. He retired the final Bronco batter in the seventh to complete his seven-hit gem.
“I was really struggling with my curve-ball all day so I relied on my fastball,” said Beck. “My defense was great behind me. Fan hit that bomb that really gave us the momentum back. This was just a great team win.”
The two clubs will conclude their two-game MSL West series in Schaumburg on Wednesday at 5. With questionable playing conditions still in Schaumburg, the Saxons may have to return to Kirby Smith Field again on Wednesday.

“Today was an important piece of the puzzle for us,” said Seely. “We came out focused and determined after yesterday to get this win. Clutch hitting and scoring early has been very beneficial for us. When we have scored first this year we are 15-0. Brent was tough and he really battled for us. Mike has come really close to getting a homer on numerous occasions and I’m really happy he finally got one.”

Schaumburg overcomes, downs No. 21 Barrington

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