Lincoln-Way West triples its fun in win

Updated: May 6, 2011 11:16PM

A triple can be one of the most exciting plays in baseball.

For Lincoln-Way West coach Jake Zajc, his Warriors had plenty of triples to go around — and then some — Friday against SouthWest Suburban conference rival Lincoln-Way Central.

West broke open a 4-all tie in the decisive fourth inning with nine runs on seven hits as it sent 13 batters to the plate en route to a 14-5 victory.

John Keefe (2-2, 2 3B, 2 RBI), Travis Wysong (3-3, 2B, 2 RBI) and Luke Andrade (3-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI) provided plenty of offensive support, and starting pitcher Matt Bishop went five innings for the win.

“Offensively, we had some guys that have been struggling come through today,” Zajc said. “We had a lot of extra-base hits today. I think probably more than we have had all year. It was a good win for us. It was fun.”

All told, West (13-7) had 15 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, including five triples.

West scored two runs in each of the second and third innings in taking a 4-1 lead. Central (11-12-1) eventually tied things at 4 on Greg Wymer’s two-run double and Rick Amaya’s RBI single.

After retiring the first batter in the top of the fourth, Knights starting pitcher Joe Gianares quickly saw the wheels come off as 10 of the next 11 Warriors hitters reached base.

“I thought we played with a little bit of panic,” Knights coach Sean Bieterman said. “We started doing some things that were uncharacteristic of what we do defensively. To their credit they cashed in on those and beat us up pretty badly today.”

In the fourth, Luke Andrade tripled to score Wysong. Dan Fifer followed with an RBI single. John Keefe later walked with the bases loaded before Luke Morgan’s triple to the right-field corner cleared the bases and extended the Warriors’ lead to 10-4.

“I was just thinking oppo (opposite field) and to go up there and hit the ball,” Morgan said. “We made some nice plays out in the field and we kept hitting.”

Later in the frame Tyler Kopp scored Morgan with an RBI single and Kopp scored on Wysong’s double to right.

“Going the other way is something that we harp on them about and hopefully, they will buy into it like today,” Zajc said.

Warriors pitcher Nick Mikoff struck out four over the final two innings in relief.

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