Baseball: York survives scare, beats Maine South on pinch-runner Nick Fisher’s winning slide

SCHAUMBURG – York’s Nick Fisher was doing everything he could to stay warm.

The senior infielder was on the bench at Wintrust Field in Schaumburg on a 36-degree day waiting for an opportunity to play. And when that opportunity came, Fisher made the most of it.

Fisher entered as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the seventh. His heads-up baserunning and sweet slide at home were both perfect and helped give the Dukes a 9-8 win over Maine South.

“I was freezing,” Fisher said. “But we were running in between innings to stay warm.”

York (4-1) had allowed Maine South to rally for five runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 8-8.

Owen Chasel singled for the Dukes with one out in the seventh. He went to second on Noah Hughes’ infield single that wrapped around first base like a snake.

Fisher came in to pinch run and went to third on a balk. Fisher then tagged up when Austin Grzywa hit a pop-up just behind second base.

“I went up there thinking I was going to bunt at the third baseman or get a hit,” Grzywa said. “I have had this before. I like to call those the Grzywa special.”

The ball had eyes when it dropped in safely. Fisher immediately took off and his slide just beat the throw to give the Dukes the win.

“I didn’t know it was going to drop,” Fisher said. “I was tagging up just in case he caught it. I hustled down the line. It was good to get the win for the Dukes.”

York coach Dave Kalal, whose team finished fourth in the state last year in Class 4A, said the stars lined up in the wrong direction for a bit.

“We had that big lead,” Kalal said. “We take our starter out and throw in some relief guys in there. And it’s cold out. It was just one of those days when you hope that you can get away with a win. And somehow, we found a way.”

Despite being down early, Maine South (1-5), which has now lost five straight, was able to stay in the game.

Pinch-hitters Peter Corthinos and Billy Zitis each singled to begin the seventh with the Hawks trailing 8-3. After a fly out, Logan Tomlinson singled to load the bases.

Alex Babich followed with a walk to score a run. Marko Kotur singled home a run, and Chris Gonzalo walked home another. Luka Stojakovic then singled in a pair of runs, and suddenly the game was tied 8-8.

The Hawks then tried to steal a run, but Gonzalo was tagged out on an attempt to swipe home to end the inning.

“I do like that this group does not quit,” Maine South coach Brian Lorenz said. “We are learning. We are a very, very, very young team. We need to be taking advantage of little things.”

Constantine Coines led off with a single in the top of the first. Tomlinson followed with a hit to left-center that skipped away when the outfielder fell down. That scored Coines and put Tomlinson at second.

Babich followed with a single, and the Hawks had runners on the corners with no outs. But Maine South failed to score.

The Hawks then took their hitting issues into the field. They surrendered four errors in the first three York batters, including two on one play. That allowed York to grab a 3-1 lead.

The Dukes came back for four runs in the next inning to lead 7-1. Hughes, Grzywa and Drew Gami all singled and scored. Chris Danko, who pitched five solid innings, would later walk that inning and score.

York led 8-1, but the Hawks chipped away with runs in the fifth and sixth before their big explosion in the seventh.

“We try to preach to the kids that every single thing you do on a baseball field matters” Lorenz said. “You still have a fighting chance every single time.”

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