Saxons tattoo Broncos in league opener

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To say the Schaumburg baseball team started its conference season with a bang would be an understatement.

The Saxons opened Mid-Suburban West play Friday by routing host Barrington 15-5 in five innings, shrugging off a light rain to pound out 14 hits and draw nine walks. They did it against Barrington’s No. 1 pitcher, sophomore Sean Buchholz.

Leadoff man Scott Mahler did the most damage, finishing 3-for-4 with a single, double and home run. He wasn’t surprised by his team’s showing.

"We’re a hard-hitting lineup and when you put the ball in play, good things will happen," said Mahler, who scored three runs, drove in two and also made a diving catch in center field. "We had a really good eye. With the wind blowing, [Buchholz’s] curveball was going down hard and we just got good looks at it."

The Broncos (4-6, 0-2), who have lost six straight after starting 4-0, took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Johnny Day led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jack Golek.

But Schaumburg (4-1, 1-0) scored five times in the second, aided by two Barrington errors. Dave Compitello (3-for-4) had a double and Mike Mistrata a two-run single to highlight the frame.

Mahler’s home run to center in the fifth, his first of the year, kicked off a nine-run inning that saw the Saxons send 14 men to the plate. All 12 Saxons who played reached base at least once in the contest and eight scored.

"We knew we had a good offensive team coming in," Schaumburg coach Paul Groot said. "We’ve been hitting the ball well for this early in the season and we have a lot of confidence in our hitters. Everybody in our lineup gets good at-bats and we did that against a pretty good pitcher."

Dominick D’Agata went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI for the Saxons, while Mistrata was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI before leaving an inning after getting hit on the right elbow by a pitch.

Dan Launhardt drove in two runs while Compitello and Alec Fontanez each scored twice in support of pitcher Andy Brandt (2-0), who pitched four-plus innings and gave up four hits and four walks.

Russ Zeisloft hit a three-run homer in the fifth for Barrington.