Sports
Trojans' Baseball Fall in Non-Conference Action
Cary sees four-run lead disappear in 11-7 loss to Palatine
Wednesday’s non-conference baseball game between Cary-Grove and Palatine was a game that everyone in attendance will remember for a long time, or at least until it warms up.
On a cold, windy and rainy that turned into snowy afternoon, the Trojans' jumped out to a 4-run lead but couldn’t hold on as Palatine gave Cary their first loss of the season 11-7.
The game was called after 5 ½ innings due to darkness.
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Cary (1-1) got off to a good start in the first inning when Matt Panek hit a sacrifice fly to give Nick Richter the go ahead score for a 1-0 lead.
Cary added three more runs in the second as Matt Byrne walked with the bases loaded to force in Alex Posey with the second run of the game and eventually took a 4-0 lead going to the bottom of the second.
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The second inning was one that Panek will like to forget, as the first five Pirates reached base in a six-run inning that forced Panek from the game.
Palatine would send 11 batters to the plate in the inning to take a 6-4 lead.
Cary responded in the third with two runs of their own. Richter and Mike Vilardo drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to tie the game at 6 apiece.
The game would stay that same until the bottom of the fourth inning when Palatine took the lead with three runs off reliever John Spoelstra , making the score 9-6.
Cary added a run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Daniel Vilardo to pull the Trojans' back within 9-7. After Palatine scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, Cary mounted one final rally as darkness began to descend in Cary.
A walk by Byrne and a single by Nick Taylor put the tying run on deck but Richter grounded out to end the game. Cary took 13 walks on the day as both pitching staffs had trouble finding the strike zone in a game where there were 17 total walks and just 13 hits.
Cary coach Don Sutherland was not pleased with his team’s performance.
“I told the team after the game that Palatine’s approach at the plate was so much better than ours. It was simply the difference in the game,” Sutherland said. “It was a terrible day to pitch and play defense but our approach at the plate can’t be that poor and Palatine’s was very good.”
Cary will try to get back on the winning track Friday afternoon with a game in Antioch at 4:30 p.m.
