North Stars hold off Larkin

St. Charles North baseball coach Todd Genke was happy with an 8-5 Upstate Eight Conference win over Larkin on Friday, but the lead North Star wasn’t happy about his team taking its foot off the gas pedal.

North (17-6, 11-3 UEC River) led 8-1 through two innings, prompting Genke to make some changes to his lineup. The backup North Stars didn’t take advantage of their opportunities and Larkin worked its way back into the game.

Down 8-4 in the top of the seventh, the Royals (9-13, 3-11) had men on first and third with nobody out. North pitcher Collin Peterson got Victor Saldana to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Drew Shore from third, but effectively ending the late-game threat.

“We played well early, got off to a big lead, and we coasted — which I didn’t like,” Genke said. “Got a bunch of kids in toward the middle of the game and they need to be a little more aggressive at the plate.”

Early on, it seemed North could do nothing but be aggressive. The North Stars scored four runs in the first inning after allowing a Larkin run to score in the top of the inning on a Saldana groundout.

North had five hits in the first inning, four of which were singles. John Munyon plated the first run when he singled home Andrew Elliott, who got the hit parade started with a one-out double.

After nickel-and-diming the Royals to death in the first inning, the North Stars broke out the big bats in the second inning. Highlighted by home runs from John Brodner and Dirk Schmitt, North accumulated four extra-base hits, while scoring four runs for the second straight inning. “They came out and swung it really well,” said Larkin coach Matt Esterino. “I think if we would have held them to five or six, it would have been a little closer in the end. But we dug ourselves too big a hole today.”

North starter Ryan Jones went out for the top of the third inning with a seven-run lead, but was reminded by coaches not to think about the scoreboard.

“My coach came out and told me it’s a 1-0 game,” Jones said. “He said keep us here, don’t let us slip.”

Jones took his coach’s words to heart for the rest of his five-inning start as the senior gave up four runs on seven hits, while striking out six Royals.

Peterson came on for the sixth inning after Jones let two Larkin runs to score in the fifth on a groundout and a Saldana single.

Following a perfect sixth inning, Peterson ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing the first two batters to reach base. The junior induced a ground ball from Saldana, however, and did the same to Niko Morado, who ended the game with a groundout to second.

As soon as the 27th out was recorded, Genke was already looking forward to Saturday.

“We have a big doubleheader against Streamwood tomorrow and we are chasing them,” Genke said. “Made sure to not look past Larkin because they stung us a week and a half ago with a no-hitter, and we wanted to let them know we could swing the bats.”

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