High School Baseball: Nestor Pitches Near-Perfect Win Against Avondale

Rochester Adams didn't make many mistakes on the diamond in their 8-3 defeat of Avondale, leaving both teams with a 1-2 league record.

"We finally put a full game together," Adams coach Jeff Hall said. 

The Yellow Jackets fell behind early but fought back to stay in the game until the sixth inning despite a stellar pitching performance.

The MVP: Matt Nestor pitched all but two outs for the Highlanders, and for good reason.

Nestor struck out 10 batters with his 10-4 (hooking) curve ball and painted corners of the plate with his fastball.

"They couldn't touch (Matt) Nestor after the fifth inning," Hall said.  "I only took him out because he reached 100 pitches on the pitch count."

The Turning Point: Alex Borglin hit a 3-run triple in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Adams an 8-3 lead with one inning left to play.

"There's a reason (Alex) Borglin bats third," Hall said.

Borglin also had a RBI double, but it was his big triple with the bases loaded that clinched the game for the Highlanders.

The Quote: "It has been a common theme of ours to fall behind early," Avondale head coach Tom Kurczewski said.

"We'll see how the players respond, hopefully they can stop this from happening later this season."

Around The Horn: Avondale kept it close most of the game despite giving up a 2-run homerun to Alex Taylor in the first inning.

Brian Purtelli relieved A.J. Susick for the Yellow Jackets in the second inning.

Purtelli didn't allow an earned run until he walked a few in the sixth inning and gave up the base-clearing triple by Borglin.

What’s next? Adams (4-4) hosts Rochester for another crosstown matchup at 4:30  Monday.

Avondale (5-4) travels to Southfield Lathrup on Friday for a double-header at 11 a.m.