Prep Baseball Round-up: Barb baseball earns UEC sweep

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DeKALB - DeKalb High School baseball coach Aaron Albright has been waiting nearly two years for a doubleheader sweep in the Upstate Eight Conference. The second-year coach finally got his wish on Saturday afternoon. The Barbs rode the relief pitching of Javier Gonzalez and some timely hitting to sweep Streamwood High School in conference play. DHS scored three runs in the fifth inning to win the opener 5-3 and used a five-run, seventh-inning explosion to beat the Sabres 6-5 in the second game. Gonzalez got the win in both games. "It was a good day," Albright said. "We hadn't won a (UEC) doubleheader in my two years here. It was a good win for us. It's another example of our kids not giving up. They worked their butts off. We're happy with the two wins. We played well and deserved to win them. We got two wins against a good team. Streamwood has some quality wins and some good players. It's been a tough week. I'm happy to get a sweep. The kids have worked hard." The Barbs, now 11-13 overall and 7-11-1 in the UEC, had to rally for both wins. In the opener, the Sabres scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings off DHS starter Matt Oxnevad, who pitched five innings of four-hit ball while giving up four walks and striking out two. The Barbs tied the game at 3-3 with a three-run fifth as Gonzalez came on in relief. The senior hurler didn't allow a run in two innings of duty to get his first win of the season. Joey Emanuelson drilled a two-run single in the sixth to make a winner out of Gonzalez. "Our pitching was thin because we had a lot of conference games this week," Albright said. "We burned two pitchers in a 12-inning game on Thursday. Oxnevad was on a strict pitch count. Gonzalez did a good job coming in and throwing strikes." The Barbs smashed out seven hits in the game one victory as David Culp and Matt Kohley both had two hits. The Sabres appeared headed toward a split after taking a 3-0 lead in the fifth frame of game two. DeKalb scored a run off an error in the sixth to slice the deficit to two runs. However, the visitors countered with two runs in the seventh to chase starter David Culp, who pitched six and one-third innings. Culp struck out seven and walked four. Gonzalez (2-0) pitched the final two-third innings and eventually got the win due a five-run DHS outburst in the bottom of the seventh. Albright credited Gonzalez's pitching and positive attitude. "It was Gonzalez's birthday on Thursday, but he had a great day today," Albright said. "It's a great story. He helped the team. He hasn't gotten a lot of playing time, but he's done a nice job when he's been put in the game. He decided to try pitching this year. He hadn't pitched more than one inning this year." Trailing 5-1, the Barbs started the seventh with a lucky break. Streamwood's catcher dropped the third strike and threw an errant throw to first trying to gun down Matt Overton. Todd Perez doubled to put runners on second and third base. Following an error on a Joey Emanuelson grounder that scored a run, Kohley brought the Barbs to within 5-3 with a sacrifice fly. Then Culp drilled a two-run home run to tie the game. Culp was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the second game, finishing the day 4-for-7 with three RBIs and two runs scored. "Culp's hit was big," Albright insisted. "We're a streaky team. We got some momentum and confidence. Our bats woke up in the seventh. David has had some big hits for us this year. He's a good player and he has worked hard." After a fly out by John Summers, Ross Brennan smacked a curveball over the fence for a walk-off home run. It was Brennan's second hit of the game. Albright hopes the smash breaks the senior out of his slump. "Ross has been struggling of late," Albright said. "He's not hitting the ball as hard as he would like. He's had some tough pitching games. It was good to see Ross hit that home run. Hopefully, that will boost his confidence." The Barbs try for the series sweep over the Sabres on Tuesday in a 4:30 p.m. road game. Cavanaugh's Sycamore crew takes two from Sandwich SANDWICH - Sycamore High School smashed four home runs to walk away with a doubleheader sweep over Sandwich High School on Saturday. The Spartans captured the opening game by a score of 11-5 and claimed the second game 20-5 in five innings. The two wins pushed Sycamore's record to 18-11 while the Indians slide to 17-13. The Spartans are at Geneva High School on Tuesday and the Indians host Dwight High School on Monday. Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said it was a good showing by his team, which won four of five games this week. "It was a nice day to play baseball," Cavanaugh said. "The wind was slightly blowing out. We took advantage of some of their errors. Hopefully, this will get us on track. This allowed some guys to get four to five at-bats today." The Spartans scored seven runs off Sandwich starter Tristan Contrino, who gave up nine hits in four and one-third innings. Luke Munch started the homer parade with a solo shot in the first game Sycamore had 12 hits in the opening contest, as Justin Evans was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Evans added two more hits in the second game to finish with five singles for the twinbill. "Justin had a couple of big hits in the Yorkville series and we gave him the start today," Cavanaugh said. "He did a good job of situational hitting. He had a good day." Taylor Shoaf was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Munch and Andy Jordan each came through with two hits. Nick Young pitched the first five innings to receive the win, striking out three and giving up eight hits. Sandwich tried to chip away after falling behind 4-1. The Spartans scored three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 10-4 lead. Sean Williams nailed a solo shot for the Indians, who ended with nine hits in the opener. For Sandwich, Williams and Brandon Thielk both had two hits. Munch got the save after pitching a scoreless two innings, giving up one hits and striking out four of the seven batters he faced. "Nick threw five solid innings," Cavanaugh said. "They hit the ball off him, but we didn't mind that. He kept us in the game and Munch shut the door on them. We got a lead and kept building on it." The Spartans exploded in the second game for three home runs, 20 runs and 12 hits. Surprisingly, Sycamore batted around its first four innings, scoring five runs in each inning of the five-inning non-conference clash. "That was odd to see," Cavanaugh said of four straight, five-run innings. "You'll have big innings, but we had four big ones in a row. What I liked about that was everybody was greedy. To be a good baseball player, you have to be greedy." The Spartans, though, spread out the wealth. Justin Oprins smacked a two-run shot in the first inning, Josh Davis hit a three-run blast in the third and Jordan ended the home run frenzy with a grand slam in the fourth. "Our guys did a good job of keeping the heat on all day," Cavanaugh said. Aaron Campuzano started the second game, tossing three innings to get the win (1-2). Daniel Painter pitched the last two frames, striking out four and not surrendering a hit. Sandwich managed just four hits in the blowout loss, as Scott McGary was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored. One of McGary's hit was a home run. Cory Gustin lasted just two innings to pick up the loss. The Indians used four pitchers in the second game, but couldn't stop the charging Sycamore offense. Jefferson sweeps Hawks KIRKLAND - Rockford Jefferson High School rode its offense to post a doubleheader road sweep over Kirkland High School. Jefferson belted out 13 hits to win the opener 18-6 in five innings over the Hawks. The visitors came right back and won the second game 10-0 for a sweep. The Hawks lost the first game thanks to four errors as three HHS pitchers also allowed a combined eight walks. "Too many walks and Jefferson hit the ball really well," said Hawks coach Sean Berry. "We hit okay, but our defense let us down." One big highlight was Derek Kirby's second home run of the season. The senior drove in two runs and scored twice. Richie D'Amato, who pitched the final inning, had two hits, including a double and run batted in. The Hawks ended with nine hits, as Aaron Hintzsche got the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season. Hiawatha improved in the second game, as Peter Rasmussen held the visitors to six hits in seven innings. However, the sophomore gave up 10 runs while striking out five and walking three to take his first loss of the season (0-1). Rasmussen and Russell Sanderson had the only hits for the Hawks in the nightcap. Once again, Jefferson (8-16) didn't commit an error on defense. "Jefferson's pitcher was tough," Berry said. "He struck out 10 and only walked one. Peter pitched pretty well in his first real innings this year. Overall, it was a tough day." The Hawks (4-17) host Durand High School on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Somonauk wins a pair GENEVA - Somonauk High School got a rare chance to play at the Kane County Cougars' Elfstrom Stadium on Saturday. On a field where many current major league baseball players have started their professional careers, the Bobcats brought out the big lumber and notched a pair of victories for Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Backed by a nine-strikeout gem by Alex Adrian, Somonauk recorded a 7-0 win over IMSA in the first game. The Bobcats posted a 12-2 win in five innings in the second game. Adrian's pitched a gem in the opener, allowing two hits and walking three batters. Adrian also provided two hits, including a double. However, the big stick belonged to Blake Christopher, who had two doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Trenton Kessler had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored and Matt Hochstatter was 2-for-2 with two runs scored. The second game featured a combined effort by Hochstatter and Tony Tavolacci on the mound. Hochstatter, who added two more doubles and three RBIs at the plate in the second game, pitched the first three innings. Tavolacci gave up both runs in the second game in two innings of work in the five-inning non-conference game. Hitting-wise, the Bobcats (16-13) got a 3-for-3 outing from Adrian, who had a double and also scored two runs. Mike Napalitano scored twice and had one RBI and Mike Gudmunson scored twice and walked three times. The Bobcats host Wheaton St. Francis High School on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Snyder keys KHS split BURLINGTON - Eric Snyder held Burlington Central High School's bats in check to help Kaneland High School to a 14-3 victory in the opening game of a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Knights, though, couldn't slow down the Rockets in the second game, dropping an 11-7 decision. Kaneland's Chris Fitzpatrick received the loss in the second game, as the Knights slip to 7-14 overall. Kaneland plays at Rochelle High School on Monday at 4:30 p.m. before hosting Glenbard South High School on Tuesday for the first game of a three-game series, which ends on Thursday.