Held to a lone run during the first two games of the series, St. Charles East’s baseball team took a simpler approach into Saturday’s DuKane Conference showdown with Lake Park.

“I felt after yesterday’s game (3-0 loss to the Lancers) that our team was kind of pressing a bit,” Saints coach Derek Sutor said. “This morning, during our pregame meeting, I said, ‘Hey, let’s go back to having some fun.’ Today, we started having some fun again.”

The fun started at the top of the lineup where leadoff man Kyle LaRose went 2 for 3 with a solo home run and scored three runs during the Saints’ 7-5 victory in Roselle.

LaRose opened the game with a single, stole second, and scored on Gavin Fuscone’s two-out RBI single to give the Saints an early 1-0 lead.

Lake Park (15-13, 6-9) drew even in its half of the frame, as Max Alvarado singled, stole second, advanced to third following back-to-back, two-out walks, and scored on an errant pickoff attempt at second base.

The Saints (17-9, 9-6) took the lead for good with a five-run second, benefiting from a hit batsman and six walks, including bases-loaded free passes to LaRose, Dylan McCabe, James Feigleson, and Niko Vahmistrovs, and Fuscone’s second RBI single in as many innings.

LaRose led off the fourth with his second home run of the season to extend the Saints’ lead to 7-2.

“Coach (Sutor) said I could put a bunt down, but my swing felt good today,” LaRose said. “I was looking for a fastball with a new pitcher in the game. I saw the breaker come out of his hand. I got under it a little and let the wind take it.”

Lake Park battled back, scoring a pair of runs in the fourth, highlighted by Patrick Shields’ leadoff single and Alvarado’s sacrifice fly.

In the sixth, the Lancers added another run to make it 7-5, as Colton Hardman and Josh Kolton had back-to-back singles before Connor Hogan delivered an RBI base hit.

However, the Lancers squandered an opportunity in their half of the fifth.

Singles from Kolton and Shields, sandwiched between a hit batsman, loaded the bases with nobody out against Saints right-hander Danny Bremer.

Bremer, however, escaped the jam and went on to close out the game, allowing a run during three innings in relief of starter Nathan Moline (4 IP, 4 runs, 5 hits).

“It has been all hands on deck this week,” said Sutor, whose team played its fifth game in as many days. “He (Bremer) hasn’t seen that many innings — only six so far. That was a huge moment for him in the fifth. It was like, stop, take a deep breath, and good things happened.”

The Lancers took the first two games of the series — 2-1 behind Hardman’s complete game on Thursday, and 3-0 behind pitchers Carter Magnus, Nate Bergman, and Nick Giovannelli on Friday.

Lancers coach Dan Colucci utilized six pitchers during Saturday’s Senior Day.

“A hit here or a hit there and it’s a different ballgame,” Colucci said. “I hand it to my guys for not letting it get the better of them and fighting back (down 7-2).

“It was a good series against a real good team. Hopefully, it helps us with seven games left before going into the playoffs.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260509/prep-baseball/baseball-st-charles-east-snaps-skid-enjoys-a-fun-day-at-lake-park/