Baseball: Bak takes control of things for Plainfield North

PLAINFIELD – Plainfield North pitcher Brandon Bak went on the attack from the first pitch he threw Tuesday, and he rarely let up on the accelerator.

That dogged determination allowed Plainfield North to establish the tone of the game in a 7-3 victory over Plainfield East in a Southwest Prairie Conference matchup.

Bak kept Plainfield East hitless into the fifth inning, and the Bengals were unable to do much of anything until the sixth, when it scored all three of its runs. Bak, an Illinois-Chicago commit, worked at a feverish pace and a belief system set in place that he felt would carry him to success.

“When you come into this game, East vs. North, I think my attack plan was confidence,” Bak said. “I know I am going into this game thinking I’m better than all these guys, and I want to make them hit the ball. The first three innings was kind of just making them hit the ball and throwing the pitches that I needed to pitch.”

Bak retired the first eight batters he faced, finally relenting a little by hitting Plainfield East No. 9 hitter Lance Wilson with a pitch. But Bak settled in to strike out the Bengals’ talented lead-off hitter, Brady Louck, to get out of the third unscathed.

And although at that stage Plainfield North led only 1-0 on an RBI single by – wouldn’t you know it – Bak in the top of the first inning, it was clear which side momentum was on, and it was no secret as to why that feeling of confidence oozed from the Tigers’ dugout.

“Our pitcher took control early, and I thought he threw really well,” Plainfield North coach John Darlington said. “That’s what he should do. That’s his mentality when he pitches. He works fast normally, but once he gets into a rhythm he’s really, really a good pitcher. He’s going to have a good year for us.”

Plainfield North (2-4) broke the game open in its half of the fourth inning. The Tigers sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, as the first five batters reached, three on hits by Dylan Evans, MJ Ansari and Joseph Gagliano. That chased Plainfield East starter Aden Aukland from the game, but before that inning he’d been quite strong as well.

Plainfield North would leave the inning with a 6-0 lead and seemingly complete control of the game.

“We took good at-bats, and we didn’t really swing out of the zone,” Darlington said. “We took quality at-bats the entire time, and that really helped us.”

The long inning had a bit of an adverse effect on the groove that Bak had created for himself on the hill as he gave up the no-hit bid leading off the fifth on a clean single from Nathan Rudd. Rudd was washed off the books with a Plainfield North double play, but two consecutive walks gave Plainfield East hope they might be able to break through. But Bak settled in and recorded his fifth strikeout to get out of trouble.

“Every pitcher kind of has to deal with when you are on offense and you have a long inning it might take you a little bit to get warm again, especially since it is not too warm outside,” Bak said. “But I knew that I had to take a deep breath and relax.”

In the sixth, Bak finally showed signs of wilting a bit. Consecutive singles from Louck, Christian Mitchelle and Aukland put Plainfield East’s first run on the board, and later a Rudd double and an RBI groundout from Sebastian Pape pulled Plainfield East (3-3) to within striking distance at 6-3.

Plainfield North added an insurance run in its half of the sixth when Ansari scored on a wild pitch after a walk. It looked like that might have more significance than it did when Plainfield East loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. But the Tigers turned another nifty double play to cement the win.

“Before today, we hadn’t played since last Tuesday. We need to get into a rhythm of playing to really know where we are at,” Darlington said. “We got a little bit of a roll going, we have to be able to see more than just a couple of guys throw.”