Jack Bodach pitches York past Downers Grove North

ELMHURST – York senior pitcher Jack Bodach waited a long time for his turn to lead the pitching staff.

So, when a bloody blister threatened his complete game effort in the fifth inning of Monday’s home game against Downers Grove North, Bodach buckled down and shook off the minor nuisance.

After getting his finger taped and taking four warm-up pitches, the crafty left-hander went back to work. Bodach finished the final two-plus innings to lead the Dukes to a crucial 3-1 victory in West Suburban Silver Division play.

The Dukes (20-9, 11-5) helped themselves by winning the first game of the three-game set to maintain their spot in second place in the competitive division.

York coach River Pitlock said Bodach made a seamless transition to a starter’s role this spring.

“He was our top reliever last year and got to learn from some strong senior arms,” Pitlock said. “He consistently works down and quick. Any young pitcher can learn anything and that’s to keep the ball down. That’s what he does best. He’s been going through a little blister the last few weeks. We were able to get that wrapped up. He is as tough as they come by.”

Bodach (7-0) surrendered just two hits in seven innings, striking out five and overcoming four walks in a masterful performance. He allowed a run in the sixth inning on a hard-hit grounder to third that took a bad hop but ended the threat by getting a flyout for the final out.

Bodach said last year’s senior pitchers, especially superstar Ryan Sloan, helped show him the ropes.

‘From Ryan, I learned to enjoy everything, especially as a senior and to live for the moment and your teammates,” Bodach said. “It was not too bad of a transition to a starter (at York) because over the summer I did some starts for my travel team and our defense is really good. When you have a good defense behind you, it’s a lot easier to pitch.”

Bodach walked two batters in the seventh but retired the next batter for the second out and the Trojans (24-7, 11-5) had a runner thrown out stealing to end the game on a pickoff attempt by Bodach.

“Definitely, my offspeed was working and that kept their hitters off-balanced and out in front and I was able to have a lot of groundballs and let my defense make plays,” Bodach said.

Pitlock said Bodach is a perfect example of the importance of patience combined with hard work.

“He started for us as a sophomore but not on the varsity,” Pitlock said. “He had the stuff, but being behind some of these strong arms, he learned and knew his place and role. It was an easy transition for him.”

Downers Grove North coach Kyle Briscoe said his team struggled to find solid contact against Bodach.

“Bodach did a great job,” Briscoe said. “We knew we would have our work cut out for us. He’s done a good job all year long. We knew we weren’t going to get a ton off him. He did a good job, especially with the temperature and climate today, nothing was carrying today.

“We made a few mistakes in terms of walking a couple of guys and made an error down the right-field line. You have to make those plays and not give them extra outs because usually bad things happen.”

York leadoff hitter Josh Fleming provided the thunder, smacking a two-run home run over the left-field fence off Downers Grove North starter Colin Doyle, who fanned nine in six innings to get the loss, in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 2-0 lead. Fleming, a Grand Valley State recruit, leads the Dukes with seven homers.

“(Doyle) was throwing his fastball for strikes the entire game pretty much,” Fleming said. “He hadn’t really thrown me anything else in my other at-bats, so going into that at-bat I was looking for the fastball. I fouled off the first one, but knew I just missed it. He threw me another one that was elevated and I saw that one up, so I figured he would try and beat me down on the next one. I met him down and was able to take it out.”

Fleming, who is batting .519 with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and 41 runs scored, is sparking the Dukes’ run late in the season, Pitlock said.

“Josh is a unique talent,” Pitlock said. “He’s been hitting for all four years that he’s been here. No one works harder in the offseason than him. He’s constantly learning and picking things up and is as clutch as it gets and is one of the best hitters in the state.”

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