High School Baseball: Storm capitalizes on Hawks' errors

BARTLETT -- With the wind blowing out on Tuesday, Bartlett blasted four home runs, but the power surge was negated by four costly errors.

Visiting South Elgin took advantage of the Hawks' fielding woes -- which led to seven unearned runs -- to register an 8-7 Upstate Eight Conference victory, completing a two-game sweep of its District U-46 rival.

"On a day you hit four home runs, you usually expect to win," Bartlett coach Rocco Marinucci said. "But we came out flat again in the field.

"It's hard to explain because they know and they've played with a lot of these (South Elgin) kids. You'd think it would be a natural rivalry that we would be up for." (South Elgin was) up for it, but for whatever reason we weren't."

The Storm opened the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first. Ryan Kellner led off with a double and later scored on the Hawks' first error of the game. Kyle Daker added an RBI single in the inning.

After Bartlett (4-4, 3-3) scored three runs in the bottom of the first, South Elgin quickly regained the lead for good with five runs in the second. Matt Wright ripped a two-run double to the left-center field fence and Jonathan Meuser added a two-run single.

The rally was aided by two more Bartlett errors. South Elgin added another unearned run in the fifth.

"The way the day started out with them hitting a couple home runs in the first inning, it didn't look good," South Elgin coach Jim Kating. "But we scrapped our way back and took advantage of some breaks.

"I've known for a while what we're capable of. Now the kids are finally starting to see what they are capable of."

In stark contrast, the Storm made Bartlett earn all of its runs.

South Elgin (3-3, 3-3) made just one meaningless error and starting pitcher Kellner issued just three walks in five innings of work. Only one of the walks factored into the Hawks' scoring.

Limiting baserunners made Bartlett's four homers less damaging as three of the home runs were solo shots.

Ryan Schrader and Nick Quagliano hit back-to-back homers in the first. Schrader's was a two-run shot while Quagliano's blast went nearly 400 feet over the left-field fence and gave the Hawks their only lead of the game, 3-2.

Kellner battled the elements and settled down to hold Bartlett to just one more run until giving up solo homers to Quagliano and Mike Selvaggi in the fifth.

"Ryan did a good job of keeping his composure after the first inning," Kating said. "That's a senior just stepping up and gutting it out. The big thing was not allowing too many baserunners. You can kind of live with the solo homers."

Bartlett pulled to within a run in the bottom of the seventh with doubles from Mike Derby and Ryan Walker off South Elgin reliever Daniel Kogut. But Kogut left Walker stranded at second by striking out Tucker Erickson to end the game.

Selvaggi took the loss for the Hawks after giving up six unearned runs in two innings. Kevin Carmody allowed only one unearned run in five innings of relief for Bartlett.