Golden Eagles Soar Over Bears, 12-3

Lake Zurich kept it close on Saturday in their 2-0 loss to Clemente. That wasn’t the case on Monday, however, as the Bears couldn’t avert the big inning and lost to Jacobs, 12-3.

Mike Irgang started for Lake Zurich on Monday, and lost the no-hitter on the first pitch of the game, as the Golden Eagle’s Mark Self lined the ball to deep center for a double. After moving to third on Connor Conzelman’s groundout, Self scored when Nate Anderson reached on an error. Irgang then walked Mike Miguel before Dillon O’Toole singled in two more runs.

“It can be tough when you start off the game spotting the other team three runs,” said Lake Zurich coach Gary Simon. “It’s never a good strategy to play catch-up right from the start of the game."

Jacobs added to their lead in the second, as Zac Camacho lined a single to right and Self singled up the middle. Conzelman then drove in Camacho when he reached on an error by Irgang. Kale then hit into a double play, driving in Self for 5-0 Golden Eagles lead.

The Bears picked up a run in their half of the second when Anthony Drago walked and catcher Jeremy Reusch singled. Jacob Larue followed with a long single to deep center to load the bases. Danny Minogue then drove in the Bears’ first run with another single. “It’s too bad we couldn’t do more in the second inning,” commented Simon.

The score remained 5-1 until the top of the fifth, when Jacobs tacked on a pair of runs. Kale led off the inning with a single that was just out of the reach of second baseman Zach Till. After Anderson grounded out, Henry Glegeous reached on an error by Till.

Miguel then drove in a run when he made it to first on an error by relief pitcher Ed Sarkowicz, who took over for Irgang in the top of the fourth. After O’Toole grounded out, Kenny Finn walked to load the bases. Szarkowicz then walked Camacho to force in Glegeous with the second run of the inning. Self then grounded out, stranding three runners.

Brian Wiest relieved Szarkowicz in the seventh, and while he pitched ineffectively, he was also the victim of three errors, as the Golden Eagles added five more runs to take a 12-1 lead. O’Toole started the rally when he reached on a two-base error by third baseman Parker Asmann. After taking third on a groundout by Finn, O’Toole scored on Camacho’s smash liner that Schnur misplayed.

After back-to-back walks to Self and Conzelman, pinch hitter Ryan Ulmar clubbed  the ball past Schnur for the third error and second run of the inning. Glegeous then singled in two more runs with a line drive single to center. Miguel followed with another single to center, driving in the fifth and final run of the inning.

Jacobs pitcher Greg Mixon was golden through the first six innings against Lake Zurich, yielding a run on five hits with three strikeouts. But after walking Drago and Reusch—his first of the game—he was relieved by Bobby Schulz. After the runners advanced on a passed ball, pinch hitter Ben Gullo walked to load the bases.

Pinch hitter Tim Sayre then hit into a confusing double play. It appeared he had driven in a run with his hard grounder to short, but he was called out at first because of interference, and Drago was forced to return to third. A wild pitch brought Drago home, making it 12-2, and Zach Till hit an RBI single to complete the scoring.

“We just couldn’t get enough going on offense,” said Simon. “If you give up as many runs as we did, you’re going to need to score a lot."

In Saturday’s game against Clemente, the Bears were polar opposites in comparison to Monday’s game, allowing just two hits while striking out 14 batters and issuing no walks. Yet they still lost, 2-0. Clemente picked up a run in the first on a home run, which was the only run they needed.

Lake Zurich had only five hits on the day, and left several runners stranded in scoring position. Mike Schnur, who recently escaped serious injury in a car accident, threw a complete game for the Bears.

Bears Paws: Lake Zurich fell to 5-12 on the season with their loss to Jacobs. With numerous weather-related cancellations over the last few weeks, the Bears are looking at a much busier schedule with assorted make-up games. Parker Asmann was the only Lake Zurich player with more than one hit in Saturday’s contest; he had two.

Next Up: Back-to-back games against Warren; on Tuesday, May 3, at Warren in Gurnee and on Wednesday, May 4^, at home. On Thursday, May 5, the Bears play at Carmel in Mundelein. All games start at 4:30 p.m.