Lincoln-Way East gets going early in SWSC win at Bradley-Bourbonnais

BRADLEY − Timely hitting, errorless defense and a couple of strong outings on the mound added up to a SouthWest Suburban Conference win for Lincoln-Way East on Friday.

The Griffins (12-2, 4-1 SWSC) built up an 8-0 lead in the first three innings and won 10-3 over Bradley-Bourbonnais (11-5, 2-3 SWSC) in a game that had been rescheduled from Thursday afternoon.

Evan Riiff went 3 for 4 for Lincoln-Way East with a single, a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs. The Griffins had 10 hits as a team, while also working six walks and taking advantage of four Boilermaker errors.

Riiff said the team did a good job of working their plate appearances and was patient enough to get pitches they wanted to swing at.

“I like how we were taking those early curveballs and just attacking those fastballs we like to hit,” he said. “Those are resulting in gappers and just good things.”

This approach led to the team’s third double-digit scoring game of the season. Jaden Henry went 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs, Rocco Triolo was 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run and Danny Mackey was 1 for 4 with two RBIs.

On the mound, Jack Tamer picked up the win. He started for the Griffins, allowing one hit and one run in three innings while striking out four batters. Ryan Kelly pitched the next two innings, allowing no runs on just two hits to go with five strikeouts.

Lincoln-Way East coach John McCarthy said he was glad to see the team get up early, with one run in the first inning, two in the second and five in the third, and that both Tamer and Kelly were able to execute to maintain that lead.

“Bradley is such a great program, we have to get ahead if we want to compete,” he said. “I thought we did a good job getting ahead, and Jack Tamer did a good job pounding the zone. Not only that, Jack Tamer and Ryan Kelly both really pounded the zone.”

The Griffins were able to build a lead in part due to some self-inflicted damage from the Boilermakers. In the Griffins’ five-run rally in the third, the Boilermakers hit a batter and walked two more, all three of which came around to score, while two errors, a passed ball and a wild pitch prolonged the rally.

Bradley-Bourbonnais had four hits. Sam Frey was 2 for 3 out of the nine hole with a pair of triples, an RBI and two runs. He scored the team’s first run on a dropped third strike with Jace Boudreau at the plate and scored their final run on an RBI groundout from Boudreau.

Coach Brad Schweigert said the missed opportunities on offense and the extra opportunities they handed the Griffins with walks and errors were tough to overcome.

But despite the loss, he said he is happy the team has the chance to respond in Monday’s rematch like they did after dropping the first game of their previous two conference series.

“What’s nice is we get to play each conference team twice this year,” he said. “So far we’ve split with Sandburg, we’ve split with [Homewood-Flossmoor], so it should be no different here. Hopefully we’ll go take one from them Monday and split with them, and I think we can be right there in conference if we play our game.”

As for the Griffins, who lead Lincoln-Way Central (3-0 SWSC) by a game in the win column and trail by one in the loss column, Riiff said the team has been gaining valuable experience.

“We have a lot of talent and we’re a young team, so when we keep playing more and more we’ll figure out different ways to win,” Riiff said.

McCarthy added if the team can continue to get pitching and defensive performances like it did Friday, more success will follow.

“I think that’s the key for us, trying to find a way to be consistent every day,” he said. “It starts with our pitching and defense. If we can do those two things, we’ll stay in games.”