Impressive season-opening win for Crystal Lake South
ROCKFORD - The Crystal Lake South baseball team accomplished just about everything you could hope for in a season opener.
The Gators received sparkling pitching performances from Andrew Engelking and Tyler Carlson, displayed solid defense, and delivered timely hits in an impressive 11-0, 6-inning road victory over Boylan Friday at McCarthy Field in Rockford.
"I'm proud of the guys. We did a lot of nice things against a good opponent," said Gators coach Brian Bogda. "Our pitchers did a nice job working ahead and our offense took care of business. We attacked early and often and we ran the bases real well."
Bogda handed the opening day start to Engelking and the junior answered the call by tossing 4 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits with 5 strikeouts.
"He did a real good job. He pitched a little bit for us last year as a sophomore so it wasn't his first time out," Bogda said. "I was proud of the way he shot the knees and I thought he had them off balance quite a bit."
"It was a long offseason. I was just really excited to get back on the mound and get the opening day start," Engelking said. "All offseason I've been working on keeping the ball low and I really wanted to get out there and just get a rhythm and trust my defense."
Junior designated hitter Nick Wolski provided the offensive spark for the Gators, driving in 3 runs with a pair of doubles into the gap in right-center.
Wolski's first double plated Cam Geisser for a 1-0 Gators' lead in the second inning while Mike Humphrey and Nick Van Witzenburg raced home for a 6-0 lead in the fifth on Wolski's second two-bagger of the game.
"He did a nice job going the other way and taking what they were giving him," Bogda said.
"It felt awesome to get out there and hit the ball hard, especially for my first varsity game as a junior," Wolski said.
The Titans (1-1) put the first two runners on in the second, but Gators' catcher Mike Swialty fired a perfect strike on the second base bag to pick off Carlos Arteaga for the crucial first out. Engelking retired the next two batters on a popup and a strikeout.
Boylan put runners on the corners in the third, but Engelking struck out cleanup hitter and Titans' starter Sam Rinaldo looking to end the threat.
"I just stepped back and took a breath. I got everything going and I got right back on there and threw strikes," Engelking said.
Van Witzenburg's sacrifice fly plated leadoff man Griffin Bright for a 2-0 lead in the third. The Gators added a pair of runs in the fourth as Wolski scored on Swialty's RBI triple and Carlson followed with a run-scoring single.
Crystal Lake South blew the game open with a 5-run sixth, aided by 4 walks and a hit batter.
Carlson, the Gators' hard-throwing senior southpaw, closed out the game in style by striking out five over the final two innings.
"Tyler will be one of our starters. He was just getting some innings in. We're trying to watch our pitch counts early here," Bogda said.