Gage Armstrong: 'One day we could totally be off and another day, like you just saw, we score 11 runs. We need to play with a chip on our shoulder.'
SYCAMORE – The Sycamore baseball team was left with a bad taste in its mouth after being no-hit for the first time in 24 years.
The Spartans were quick to relieve their taste buds Tuesday as they buried Kaneland, 11-0, in five innings.
Gage Armstrong crushed a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the victory.
“We knew we had to come out strong today,” Armstrong said. “We’re kind of a hit-or-miss team. … One day we could totally be off, and another day, like you just saw, we score 11 runs. We need to play with a chip on our shoulder.”
Sycamore leadoff man Logan Riley got the offense started off with an opposite-field single to left. Matthew Cusumano brought in Riley with an RBI single, and Nathen Shover drove in two more runs to give Sycamore a 3-0 lead after one.
The Spartans added another run in the second inning and four more in the fourth.
Riley finished 3 for 3 at the plate, earning kudos from Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh.
“It’s a lot easier to score runs when your leadoff man is on base four times,” Cavanaugh said. “We’ve had this rough stretch of games, and I know we’re not this bad. It gets to the point where everybody is pressing a little bit.
“We just needed somebody to get a big hit today and drive in a couple runs. Those guys were [Shover and Riley]. That’s exactly what we needed.”
Sycamore starter Justin Pottorff pitched all five innings, allowing only two hits and finishing with four strikeouts and three walks.
Pottorff said Tuesday’s outing was much needed.
“I know we’re a lot better than how we played yesterday,” he said. “It obviously showed [Tuesday]. The no-hitter took a lot out of us. We bounced back. I was just trying to support my teammates with their good hitting performance.”
Kaneland’s Reece Sowell took the loss – he lasted 31/3 innings, allowing six hits and eight runs, while striking out one.
Knights’ coach Brian Aversa said his team will need a quick memory as it prepares for Thursday’s rubber match.
“There’s nothing we can do about [the loss] now,” Aversa said. “We didn’t take care of business. It wasn’t the right approach. A lot of stuff has to change very, very quickly.
“On Monday, we played some pretty ... good defense. We didn’t do that [Tuesday]. Give them credit for putting the ball in play. It’s unfortunate Reece Sowell was the victim of our mistakes.”
By the numbers: Armstrong went 2 for 4 with two runs, three RBIs and one home run.
Beyond the stats: After crushing a ball into left field for a standup double in the second inning, Riley celebrated by performing the “wiggle” emote from the popular video game “Fortnite.” His celebration garnered several cheers from the Sycamore dugout. Riley scored later in the inning off Austin Perry’s RBI double.
They said it: “I certainly wanted it to end in five innings,” Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said. “We’re struggling for wins. That’s a good team over there; that’s a good offense. I don’t have Mariano Rivera in my bullpen, where I can just have someone come in and the game is over. We wanted to end it as quickly as we could.”