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South Elgin, Neuqua settle for split
Updated: May 7, 2011 10:04PM
Taking the field for the first time since a bad defensive half-inning almost cost it a victory Wednesday against York, Neuqua Valley came out Saturday and picked up on the wrong foot in that regard.
Three errors and numerous defensive lapses marred the first game of its doubleheader with South Elgin as the Storm used a four-run sixth to pull away for a 9-5 victory.
But thanks to a solid outing in Game 2 from senior right-hander Alex Bucz, the Wildcats earned a split with South Elgin by responding to their subpar effort in Game 1 with a 5-2 victory.
“It was great. It was wonderful,” Neuqua Valley coach Robin Renner said of Bucz’s five-inning performance. “Alex has been good all year long. He’s not overpowering, but he locates well. That’s what he did. It didn’t surprise me.”
Bucz improved to 6-0 on the season after allowing just two runs and striking out nine Storm hitters as he worked into the sixth inning.
Lasting five-plus innings in Game 1, Kevin Hodgman (3-3) took the loss for Neuqua Valley (15-5-1, 7-5-1 Upstate Eight Valley) after being tagged for eight runs on 11 hits, including three each from Storm third baseman Nate Garris and right-fielder Kenny Lowden.
“We didn’t play very good baseball at all (in Game 1),” Renner said. “We didn’t cover our bases, we didn’t cover second base — it cost us a run. (We had) a passed ball that cost us a run. We just didn’t play very good baseball.”
South Elgin (16-5-1, 10-5-1 Upstate Eight Valley) took full advantage of the Wildcats’ sloppy play in Saturday’s opener behind a 3-for-5 day at the plate from Garris, who came around to score three times.
Garris would follow up that performance with a 2-for-3 effort in the second game, joining teammate Dan Heine as the only two South Elgin hitters to get at least two hits off Bucz.
“I just finally came around. I wasn’t hitting at the beginning of the season,” Garris said. “Just found my swing, and I’ve been practicing with it every day. Got into a groove and finally hitting the ball.”
Marty Knuth earned the victory in Game 1 for the Storm after going five innings and limiting the Wildcats to just two earned runs while fanning four.
Along with the miscues in the field during several stretches of Game 1, the Wildcats also could lament their missed opportunities at the plate. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the second but only put one run across, an inning after beginning the game with three straight singles, only to come away with just one run.
“We did a nice job in regards to getting some key hits and scoring some runs and capitalizing on some mistakes that they made,” South Elgin coach Jim Kating said. “It was nice with our group there at the end (of Game 1) when (Neuqua Valley) tied the game back up that we came right back and put a four-spot back up on the board.”
With two weeks remaining in the regular season and with both teams tied in the loss column within the Upstate Eight with five apiece, the series wraps up Tuesday in South Elgin, a day after Neuqua Valley travels to Bartlett for a makeup game on Monday.
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