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CARY – Cary-Grove pitcher Sam Cohen experienced a couple of bumps in the first inning when the first two Dundee-Crown batters singled and center fielder Ben Hurt Haller ran down a fly ball on the warning track.
After that, Cohen appeared to hit cruise control for a smooth ride the rest of the way.
In the second through fifth innings, he faced one more than the minimum. Only four balls off Chargers bats left the infield for the rest of the game.
“It was just trusting my defense more,” Cohen said. “My catcher [Nate Crick] called a great game behind the plate, and I trusted him. The first inning didn’t go too well, but the second inning on I started feeling it.”
Cohen walked two, struck out three and allowed three hits as the Trojans won their Fox Valley Conference opener, 11-1, in six innings Monday.
“Sam’s been really good so far this year,” Trojans coach Ryan Passaglia said. “He throws strikes with all three pitches [fastball, curveball, changeup] and keeps guys off-balance.
“It’s the same recipe we preach: Play defense and pitch. Every now and then we’ll hit and put it all together. Those two things [defense and pitching] you can control a lot more than hitting.”
The Trojans (2-2-1, 1-0 FVC) committed two errors behind Cohen but were solid for the most part.
Shortstop Dane Schuster gobbled up three of the ground balls that Cohen induced from the Chargers (2-6, 0-1), one to start a double play.
“He made it easy for us,” Schuster said. “He pitched really well, hit his spots really well and had a good curveball. It really helped when coach gave us signs of where the ball was going and they hit it right to me. After the first inning he was perfect.”
D-C scored first when Blake Hernandez singled and advanced on an error, then moved to third on Cameron King’s single. Schuster then grabbed Matt Schuring’s pop-up into shallow left field, but his momentum was carrying him away from home plate and Hernandez tagged and scored.
C-G came back and took control with three in the first and four more in the second. Four C-G runs scored on wild pitches and another scored on an error.
D-C starter Isaac Santos Jr. had trouble with his control, hitting five batters and walking three.
“[Santos] has a live arm, throws hard and he has pitching ability, it’s just kind of a matter of harnessing it a little bit,” Chargers coach Pat Conlin said. “I’ve seen it. It’s there, and it’s not as consistent as he’d like it to be or we need it to be.
“It’s still relatively early. He’s still getting things down. They had great at-bats. When he was in the zone, they hit him or put it in play to make us make a play. Between their patient at-bats and his little bit of a struggle to find the zone at times, it was a recipe for disaster.”
Antonio SantaCruz was 2 for 3 with an RBI, Toby Splitt was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, and freshman Hayden Dieschbourg was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Brendan Carter also was credited with two RBIs when he was hit and walked with the bases loaded.
The offense provided more than what Cohen needed. The junior right-hander threw 73 pitches in his six innings, with one six-pitch and another eight-pitch inning.
“It felt good. It’s nice to feel confident in what you do and having your teammates back you up,” Cohen said. “Just building off of this start to the rest of the season. Keep the low-pitch innings going and letting my teammates work and supporting the team.”
Cary-Grove 11, Dundee-Crown 1 (6 inn.)
Dundee-Crown 100 000 – 1 3 1
Cary-Grove 340 202 – 11 8 2
WP: Sam Cohen, 2-1 (6IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 3K). LP: Isaac Santos Jr. (3 2/3IP, 4H, 9R, 7ER, 3BB, 3K).
Top hitters–Dundee-Crown: Blake Hernandez 1-3 (R), Cameron King 1-3, Edgar Salinas 1-3. Cary-Grove: Antonio SantaCruz 2-3 (RBI, 3R), Toby Splitt 2-4 (2B, RBI, 2R), Hayden Dieschbourg 2-3 (2RBIs), Brendan Carter 1-2 (2RBIs).