Kits Rally, Then Settle For 8-8 Tie

Frank Consiglio and his coaching staff are eager to see Evanston’s untested baseball players face some high leverage situations in the coming weeks.

But shoving yourself in a six-run hole isn’t exactly what the ETHS mentor had in mind --- and that’s what happened Tuesday at Rocky Miller Park.

The Wildkits settled for an 8-8 tie with Payton Prep at Northwestern University after trailing 6-0 in the 2nd inning. The game was called due to darkness after the Kits stranded the potential winning run at third base in the bottom of the 7th.

“This is a gritty group of guys, I know that, but don’t read too much into that six-run comeback because we should have never been in that spot,” said Consiglio. “This is what happens if you don’t execute strike one (pitchers) and you’re not good with two strikes (hitters). We were able to grind, grind, grind today but we didn’t put this one away once we had the lead.

“We did a horrible job of putting any pressure on their defense, too. It’s so early and we have so much to learn, so much we have to work on.”

The Grizzlies chased ETHS starting pitcher Thomas Ferguson by scoring four runs in the 1st and two more in the 2nd, but only totaled four hits over the next five innings. Solid relief work by senior right-hander Alex Van Durmen put the Wildkits in position to win the game, after Owen Vander Velde swiped home on the front end of a double steal attempt to make it 8-7 in the 5th.

But hard-throwing Henry Rouch, after foiling a Payton rally with a strikeout to end the 6th, allowed the tying run in the 7th on a walk, two wild pitches and an infield out.

Evanston still had an opportunity to pull out the victory after walks to Vander Velde and Noah Cryns placed runners at second and third in the 7th. But Vinnie Miller popped up to the shortstop to end the game.

“The highlights for us were Jake Kobus with his two-strike approach (single in the 3rd, RBI groundout in the 4th) and Van Durmen on the pitching side,” said Consiglio. “Alex did a good job. He steadied the ship and he kept us in the game. He didn’t start out that way, but he figured out how to attack their hitters after a couple of batters. He’s a two-pitch pitcher, and if he can execute those pitches, he can get a lot of innings (on the mound) for us.”

Five different players drove in runs for ETHS. Charlie Kalil and Matthew Luczak both went 2-for-4 at the plate and the pair recorded multiple hits for the second game in a row.

Evanston departs Thursday for its annual spring break trip to Vero Beach in Florida, where the Wildkits will play nine games.