Surging Batavia rallies by Kaneland

Batavia's Ryan Welter celebrates after his team took an early lead against Kaneland.
(Donnell Collins/For the Beacon News)

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Having won 22 of their last 24 games, the ball has been bouncing the Batavia Bulldogs' way.

Senior Henry DuQue bounced the ball past a pulled-in Kaneland infield at Elfstrom Stadium Monday afternoon, delivering the game-winning hit as the No. 10 Bulldogs topped the Knights 4-2.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Batavia senior Brian Krolikowski led off the frame with his third hit of the game. Jordan Coffey followed with a grounder to third base, but Curtis Lubic's attempt at a double play short-hopped Joe Aguilar at second base and ended up in right field.

Adam Karger was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Aguilar relieved Joe Gura on the mound setting the stage for DuQue. DuQue hit the first pitch he saw back towards the middle and just out of the reach of Gura, who had moved to shortstop.

Krolikowski and a pinch-runner both scored and the Bulldogs survived a seventh-inning Knights rally.

Aguilar prevented any further damage in the sixth inducing a foulout, whiffing a batter and getting the third out on a pop up.

Jay Levita singled to begin the last inning, but Chris Wood came on for starting pitcher Coffey and earned his third save. Wood recorded a popout and strikeout before Lubic singled, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Wood ended the game with a strikeout.

Batavia improved to 22-5 overall and 17-1 in the WSC, while the Knights fell to 20-11 and 11-7.

"No disrespect to anybody, but you kind of have to understand where these guys are at right now," Batavia coach Matt Holm said. "We've got 13 seniors and eight of them playing every day. They're expecting to win."

Coffey tossed six innings, including four 1-2-3 frames, to earn his first win of the season. He struck out three and walked just one while allowing two singles and a double.

"If you would have said to me this winter that we were going to be 21-5 and Jordan wasn't going to have one of the wins, I would have said, 'What planet are you from?'" Holm said.

"The whole thing is a team effort, and the chemistry this year is just phenomenal," Krolikowski said. "We rely on each other and every win is a complete team effort."

Tim Drish opened the scoring with a two-out, solo homer over the left-center field fence in the bottom of the first inning, and Krolikowski followed with a triple to the right center on the next pitch. Coffey then spotted himself a 2-0 lead when he doubled down the right field line.

But Gura settled in and allowed just one more hit until the decisive sixth inning. Gura walked two (one intentionally), fanned one and recorded 10 groundball outs.

Kaneland tied the game in the top of the fourth inning. Gura beat out a potential 4-6-3 double play and scored on a double to the right-field corner by Mike Pritchard. Pritchard scored on a two-out error.