Jack Reina’s slider missed Marengo bats about as frequently as his team scored runs in Saturday’s nonconference game at Prairie Ridge.
Leaning on his tight breaking pitch, Reina struck out seven and held the Indians to one hit over four innings as the Wolves cruised for an 11-0 victory.
The win continues a stellar start for Prairie Ridge (11-2), which has held opponents to only 2.6 runs per game so far this season. Pitchers like Reina, a sophomore, have kept hitters quiet.
“They were chasing everything outside and I really took advantage of that,” Reina said. “I noticed their swings were all over the top. They weren’t seeing the ball well. I really worked on it this offseason and during travel ball. Our pitching has been a huge factor. Our pitching is the top of our game right now and our defense has been incredible.”
Kal Click entered in the fifth and fired a scoreless inning of relief for the Wolves, who broke the game open with a seven-run effort during the bottom of the fourth. Prairie Ridge capitalized on five Marengo errors, four of which came in the fourth inning, to clinch Saturday’s victory.
Jack Herman and Beckett Breseman each had two hits.
“We read the offspeeds, we read the fastballs and we try to make adjustments in the game,” said Herman, who went 2 for 3 with one RBI. “We got to them in the last inning. We have a lot of energy and that energy translates into our at-bats, which helps us a lot.”
Reina carried a no-hitter into the top of the fourth, where Caden Oine roped a line-drive single through the left side for Marengo’s lone hit of the afternoon. Oine was also the first Indian to hit a ball into the outfield, as Marengo (7-6) struggled to make much contact on Saturday. Just three Indians reached base in their lopsided loss.
“There was a lack of competing by us,” Marengo coach Nick Naranjo said. “Their guy was in the zone and we just weren’t very aggressive offensively. We made a lot of key defensive mistakes and we had a freshman pitcher on the mound, so we left him out to dry a bit. It’s one of those learning experiences and they’re a really good team.”
Maddox McKim ripped a hard grounder to second that resulted in an error and two Prairie Ridge runs to ignite the team’s seven-run rally in the fourth. After Breseman’s RBI single and Jack Dahlem’s sacrifice fly to right center, Herman bounced an RBI single through the right side. Zach Techen’s two-run single capped off the Wolves’ surge.
“We’re an energetic team,” said Breseman, who finished 2 for 3 with an RBI. “We’re close off the field and that’s translated to being close on the field. We’re an aggressive team and I think it shows.”
Prairie Ridge’s seven-run inning was aided by Marengo mistakes. Mitchell Aukes attempted to barehand a bunt by Colt Zaleski, but the freshman pitcher couldn’t grip the ball. Dahlem was then able to score from second on a sacrifice fly, as the throw to the infield bounced free and Dahlem, standing on third, went home on a heads-up play.
“The message was to compete,” Naranjo said. “We have a decent group. We’ve seen what we can do. When we have state days like this, it’s very frustrating. About half of our innings ended on strikeouts.”
Prairie Ridge will resume Fox Valley Conference play with a road game at Burlington Central on Monday. Marengo returns to its Kishwaukee River Conference slate with a home game against Johnsburg Monday.