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LakeForestLeader.com sports
the lake forest leader | July 7, 2016 | 29
Baseball
Errors abound as Titans rally to tie Grayslake
Derek Wolff, Sports Editor
Lake Forest starter Christian McCauley delivers a pitch during the Titans 7-7 tie
with Grayslake on Monday, June 27 from Lake Forest High School’s West Athletic
Campus. Photos by Derek Wolff/22nd Century Media
Lake Forest’s Jackson Thomas smacks an RBI single in the third inning.
The sights and sounds of
the season are often on full
display during a summer
league baseball game.
Tailgates are down as
burgers and hot dogs line
the grill, the smells permeating
the night’s cool air
like the crack of a wood
bat. The local youth teams
come out in full force,
watching, waiting for their
turn on the high school
stage, one step closer to
the bright lights and vivid
dreams of playing in the
big leagues.
Go to a summer ballgame
and you’ll notice
the occasional oddity as
well, such as a tie due to
encroaching darkness. The
Lake Forest Legion Post
264 Titans experienced exactly
that on Monday, June
27 in a 7-7 tie with visitors
Grayslake from Lake
Forest High School’s West
Athletic Campus.
The Titans blew an early
4-0 lead but rallied from
deficits in both the sixth
and seventh innings to
earn the tie before umpires
called the game after seven
frames.
Unsurprisingly, both
sides were pleased with
their resiliency throughout
the tilt in a close game
marred by a number of
errors that enabled both
teams to battle back at various
spots throughout.
“Everyone on the roster,
I believe in all of these
guys,” said Lake Forest
coach Mike Nilles. “We
took some of the starters
out, some guys who have
more experience and put
some of the younger guys
in and they got the job
done. It’s not just about
getting a hit, it’s about putting
the ball in play and
getting an out. They did a
good job of fighting back.
The pitchers did a great
job today, I thought.”
Grayslake wiped away
Lake Forest’s 4-0 lead
by scoring one run in the
fourth, followed by two in
the fifth and three in the
sixth.
“I’m just glad they
didn’t give up and came
back,” said Grayslake
coach Bryce Edwards.
“They fought back every
single inning and just kept
on going. It was a tough
day for the pitchers with
some of the things that
happened behind them but
they stuck with it and finished
the game.”
Trailing 6-4 entering
the home half of the sixth,
Titans third baseman Peter
Turelli reached base
safely on an error by second
baseman Kyle Allen.
Turelli was later called out
at second base but an infield
single from Ryan Lee
was followed by Shane
Lynch reaching safely on
an error. Caleb Durbin had
an RBI single before Jonathan
Salm plated Lynch
and reached on another error
by third baseman Clay
Stoeffl to tie the score at
6-6.
With Durbin on the
Grayslake’s Benton Troehler slides back into first safely
as Kyle Wix puts on the tag.
mound for the Titans in the
top of the seventh, Grayslake
pitcher Ryan Casper
earned a one-out walk.
Stoeffl followed suit with
a walk, bringing leadoff
man Nic Presutti to the
plate.
His fifth plate appearance
of the game was a
good one as he hit a towering
drive to right field for
a double, scoring Casper
and giving the visitors a
late 7-6 lead.
“That was a big, big
hit,” Edwards said. “Unfortunately
the right fielder
played it right and the
guy in front of (Presutti)
couldn’t go anywhere,
he had to make sure it
dropped (in) so (Presutti)
almost caught him.”
With two men in scoring
position Durbin worked
his way out of the jam,
striking out Allen before
getting Benton Troehler to
ground out to second.
Titans catcher Paul
Turelli led off the home
half of the frame by
reaching base on an error.
Casper struck out first
baseman Kyle Wix but a
balk sent Turelli to second
base. Peter Turelli singled
before Paul Turelli scored
after Alex Gamache put
the ball in play, resulting in
another error from Grayslake’s
defense.
With Turelli on third
and Gamache at second, it
was Casper’s time to turn
in a clutch performance.
Peter Carney hit a missile
down the first base
line that looked like it
would be a walkoff hit but
Troehler snagged it for the
second out. Then Casper
got Lynch to ground out to
third to end the inning and
ultimately the game in the
7-7 tie.
Titans starter Christian
McCauley worked his way
out of a number of jams in
his start, stranding seven
runners in the first four innings
before leaving after
five. He earned a no-decision
in the contest.
“He mixes his speeds
really well, just hits his
spots,” Nilles said. “He’s
not overpowering, he
doesn’t have a huge curveball
but he just gets the
job done. Great command,
knows when to mix it up
and where to put it and he
kept them off balance.”
The Titans returned to
the diamond following
the holiday weekend with
a pair of games in Lake
County earlier this week
and will begin the postseason
soon.