Maroons' Roth, rally rock Royals

With one big inning Wednesday, Elgin put an end to its early season frustration.

The Maroons struck for six runs in the top of the fifth to erase a three-run deficit and take a lead for the first time all season.

That advantage held up when junior pitcher Tom Roth -- who belted a two-run homer in the fifth -- put the finishing touches on a complete-game effort in Elgin's 6-4 Upstate Eight Conference win against crosstown rival Larkin.

The victory is the first of the season for the Maroons, who also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Royals that dated to 2006.

"This team fought back," Roth said. "This is real big. I knew we had it in us, but maybe this will spark something."

The outlook was much more bleak for visiting Elgin (1-3, 1-3) through the first four innings.

The Maroons' shaky defense made an appearance in the third when a pair of errors led to three unearned runs as Larkin jumped to a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Elgin's offense appeared stuck in neutral while managing only two hits off Royals starter Luc Geier through the first four frames.

That all changed in the fifth, though, when the Maroons made some changes in their approach at the plate. Elgin batted around in the inning, and six of the first seven batters connected for hits.

"The first time through the order against [Geier] I thought we were out in front and trying to yank a little too much," Elgin coach Dave Foerster said. "But the second and third time through we concentrated on trying to hit the ball up the middle and to the right side, and we ended up pounding the right side."

Ben Hamblen and Mike Stackowiak started the rally with back-to-back singles to lead off the inning.

Sergio Fuentes then connected for a one-out, RBI single before Dan Schmerber belted an opposite-field RBI double to right to pull the Maroons within 3-2.

Ben Stone then added a two-run, opposite-field double to right to put Elgin ahead 4-3 before Roth capped the onslaught by belting a two-run homer to left center on the first pitch of his at-bat.

"It was a knee-high fastball and I just took a hack at it," Roth said.

Larkin (3-4, 2-2) pulled within 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth when Tyler Shore led off with a double and scored on Justin Kalusa's sacrifice fly.

The Royals had more chances to narrow the gap, but stranded a runner at second in the fifth and left two runners on base in the sixth.

"We wanted to put pressure on their defense, and for some reason we had some chances to move up with balls in the dirt and we didn't get it done," Larkin coach Doug Ellett said. "Those things came back to bite us a little bit."

Roth (1-1) struck out five, walked one and allowed one earned run on six hits on the hill. Stackowiak (2-for-2), Hamblen (2-for-3) and Schmerber (2-for-4) led the Maroons at the plate.

Cam Kinley was 2-for-3, Ryan Shriver belted an RBI double and Shore scored a pair of runs for the Royals.

Elgin's one big inning proved costly for Geier (0-2), who took the loss after striking out three, walking none and scattering nine hits in seven innings of work.

"I just got too comfortable with the lead, lost velocity and left some pitches up," Geier said of the fifth inning. "I just couldn't stop the bleeding."