Johnsburg beats Marengo on walk-off balk

JOHNSBURG – Johnsburg’s flair for winning baseball games on walk-off balks trumped Marengo senior Alten Bergbreiter’s knack for late-inning heroics at the plate.

Both made for fitting drama considering first place in the Kishwaukee River Conference was at stake.

Johnsburg pulled out a 3-2 win when, with Tayden Pinkowski at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Marengo reliever Alex Johnson was called for a balk. From the stretch position, Johnson lifted his front toe to begin his delivery and then stepped off the rubber.

A balk was called, allowing Evan Pohl, whose one-out single started the rally, to trot home from third base with the winning run.

Marengo coach Nick Naranjo said the umpire made the correct call on the balk.

“We had our defense not set up in the right way,” said Naranjo, whose Indians hosted Johnsburg in a rematch Wednesday. “Our outfielders were playing a little bit too shallow, so we wanted to get them back to default depth, and then we told [Johnson] to step off and, unfortunately, he went to deliver and stepped off at the wrong time.”

It was the second time this season that first-place Johnsburg (14-4, 7-0) won a KRC game at home on a balk, as it also happened against Richmond-Burton on a snowy April 9. It’s been that kind of season for the Skyhawks, who had a 12-game winning streak snapped last week after having won only six games all of last season.

“All of the kids are characters,” first-year Skyhawks coach Eric Toussaint said with a smile. “There’s something about them. They’re just goofy and fun, and battle, and love to be here. I guess I expect the weird endings with the kind of kids that we have.”

Bergbreiter’s two-out, two-run single tied the score in the top of the seventh and kept Pohl from getting the win after Johnsburg’s lefty starter dominated for six innings. Pohl struck out 12, including seven in a row, walked three and allowed only two hits and no earned runs. He struck out 18 batters against Woodstock North on April 14.

“Fastball, changeup, keeping it outside and letting the wind take it a little,” the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Pohl said of what was working against Marengo. “I like the corners.”

Trailing 2-0, Marengo (13-5, 6-2) started its seventh-inning rally against Pohl thanks to an error and walk to Max Broughton. Toussaint then went to closer Deegan Turner. David Lopez’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Turner got a called third strike for the second out, before the lefty-hitting Bergbreiter singled into center field, tying the score.

As a sophomore two years ago, Bergbreiter hit a walk-off single in the regional final. Marengo walked off with a win against Woodstock on April 12 this season when Bergbreiter smacked a two-run single in the seventh.

“I just go up there and have the approach that I work on every time, and it seems like when it matters, it works,” Bergbreiter said. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Pohl, who plans to play for McHenry County College next year, had two of Johnsburg’s seven hits (all singles). Batting in the No. 3 spot, he went 2 for 3 with a first-inning sacrifice bunt that led to Dom Vallone and Landon Johnson scoring the game’s first two runs.

“The coaches are keeping us in a better mindset,” Pohl said. “They’re getting us to think about approaches at the plate, not just swinging to swing, having an idea of what to do.”

Marengo starting pitcher Michael Kirchhoff struck out nine, walked two and hit two in five innings. He allowed one earned run and four hits. Kirchhoff also had one of the Indians’ three hits (all singles).