Servos strikes out 9 in win

Waubonsie Valley starting pitcher Ryan Servos struck out nine hitters and allowed just three hits over five innings in a 13-0 Warriors victory over East Aurora Thursday afternoon at Waubonsie.

The Lewis-bound right-hander retired 10 straight at one point, and allowed only singles by Rafael Rodriguez, Tom Okapal and Andy Corral.

"His last two outings have been very, very solid and he looks very aggressive," Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio said. "In the first inning he had a tough time feeling the curveball a little bit, but he knew he could go after them and challenge the hitters."

The Tomcats (1-19, 0-14) had an early opportunity to plate some runs, as Dan Okapal followed Rodriguez' single with a walk in the top of the first inning. A passed ball moved the runners to second and third with only one out, but then Servos (2-1) struck out the next two hitters to end the threat.

"It is frustrating," East Aurora assistant coach Jerry Taulbee said. "We come out, start battling and we just can't get that big hit. It's frustrating for every guy in that dugout."

East did not have another runner reach base until Tom Okapal's single in the fourth inning.

Tomcats starter Richard Jimenez battled the Warriors (10-14, 7-9) for three innings, allowing just three hits. But his defense failed him, committing three errors in that span as the Warriors scored five runs, three of which were earned.

The floodgates opened in the fourth, as Waubonsie scored eight runs. Chris Galovic, Bryan Fekety and Dan Walker each had run-scoring singles and Eric Sousanes added a two-run single.

"It's key with the (state) tournament coming up, I told the kids we're working to get back to .500," Fezzuoglio said. "The other thing is to get some momentum going into the tournament. That's our goal. And then trying to make a run in the tournament because in baseball, anything can happen."