Baseball: Wheaton North rides big comeback vs. St. Charles East

ST. CHARLES – Wheaton North junior Logan Straube’s personal takeaways go beyond the simplicity of wins and losses.

At 15-15 overall and 10-10 in league play, the Falcons have experienced a mixture of both wins and losses throughout stretches of a regular season that is winding down in its final week. Through it all, Straube and the Falcons have found plenty to build on for a playoff run and beyond.

“We play as a team and we lose as a team,” Straube said after the Falcons’ 7-4 comeback victory over St. Charles East on Monday. “If one person is doing good, then we’re all doing good. We build off each other. That’s what I’ve learned.

“Between our team chemistry and everything, we’ve learned if one person gets down, then we all get down. But I think we’ve built, from the beginning until now, we’ve become a stronger team overall.”

Trailing 4-0 after four innings, the Falcons found their spark with timely hits and by taking advantage of defensive mistakes by St. Charles East, the outright DuKane Conference champion. The loss spoiled St. Charles East’s Senior Night.

The Saints (23-3, 18-2) took a seemingly comfortable lead on a two-run homer from James Brennan in the first inning and a two-run double from Nick Miller in the third, but were unable to sustain the momentum from the offensive spark and steady starting pitching from Jack McDermott.

In the fifth, the Falcons scored three runs on an RBI single from Straube, an RBI double from Charlie Strutzel and a St. Charles East error. The Saints staved off the game-tying run after all-state talent Jake Zitella caught Strutzel in a rundown between home and third. Luke Bellini’s popout ended the threat.

St. Charles East squandered runners at second and third in the bottom half of the inning, and the Falcons kept the momentum with a four-run sixth inning.

After a leadoff single, Tyler O’Conner reached on a fielder’s choice. Tyler O’Connell followed with a game-tying RBI single. Straube hit an RBI double for a 5-4 Falcons lead. Strutzel then popped a two-run home run for insurance runs.

“I’ve had these scenarios before where it could be a 3-2 count with two outs and we’re down and need the runs,” Strutzel said. “Sometimes [I don’t] get them, but tonight, it just happened to go our way.”

St. Charles East went quietly the rest of the game. Wheaton North’s Patrick Dillow struck out the side in the sixth and had two more strikeouts and a line out in the seventh to end the Saints’ six-game winning streak.

“The defense really let us down a ton. A ton,” Saints coach Len Asquini said. “Jack McDermott was really good on the mound. We had a chance to get him his first varsity victory with a four-run lead after we took him out. We just didn’t hold on the mound and didn’t hold defensively. Certainly, our offense did zero from that point on to help us.”

The Saints had 14 seniors commemorating their final home game. It also was Asquini’s final regular-season home game as coach. The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches’ Association Hall of Famer will be retiring at the end of the season.

“For all these years, I want the best experience possible for the kids,” Asquini said. “And whatever that brings. Hopefully, it’s a deep playoff run here coming up. It’s a conference championship already. We want to finish this off strong and get a little momentum, especially after today. ... Those are always things that we want from this group. This is another good group for us.”