Untimely miscues hurt Kays in another tough loss to Thornwood

KANKAKEE − A pair of winnable Southland Athletic Conference games turned into tough losses for the Kankakee baseball team in the past two days.

Up 2-1 over Thornwood entering the top of the fourth inning Thursday, the Kays were undone by three errors, two walks and a hit batter, as well as some timely hits from the Thunderbirds, that saw the lead turn into a 7-2 deficit.

Kankakee managed to cut the Thornwood lead to 7-6 heading into the sixth, but allowed two more in the top of the sixth and could not turn a pair of two-out walks into runs in the bottom of the inning, which was the final inning because of darkness.

With the 9-6 loss, the Kays fell to 3-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play. It was their fifth loss in a row, all in the Southland Athletic Conference, after they started conference play 3-0.

On Wednesday, they held a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth over the same Thornwood team before four walks and three wild pitches allowed the Thunderbirds to mount a rally and win 5-4.

Head coach Nick Crowe said the team, which is returning only one starter, still is taking time to adjust to the varsity level. While progress is being made, he said there are things he really needs the team to start picking up on at this point in the season.

“I’m glad a lot of our young guys are learning, but it’s the little things [that are hurting],” he said. “It’s not picking up signs, it’s belittling our teammates, it’s not being locked in. Pitch-to-pitch, that focus and connection we’re missing. That’s what we’re really working on.”

Some of those lapses in focus contributed to Thornwood’s six-run, fourth-inning rally Thursday. After a leadoff single off Kankakee’s Jacob Vinardi, courtesy runner Jaden Lee stole second and third base before scoring on the throw to first base after a dropped third strike.

After another strikeout from Vinardi put the Kays an out away from escaping the inning with the score tied 2-2, a wild pitch gave Thornwood the lead.

A walk, a hit batter and another walk loaded the bases for leadoff hitter Emmanuel Pozo, and after another wild pitch made it 4-2, Pozo tripled home two more runs, then scored himself on another error.

Similar struggles against the bottom of the order Wednesday led to that heartbreaking loss. Crowe said that the team has to get better to avoid setting the table for their opponents’ most dangerous hitters.

“[Thornwood] has a really good player in their leadoff hitter who’s a stud, but you flip the lineup over with the bases loaded and bad things are going to happen to you,” he said. “I’m a huge believer in the baseball gods. When you play the game the right way, the baseball gods treat you right. When you don’t play the game the right way, the other side is true, too.”

Vinardi pitched the first 3⅔ innings for Kankakee, allowing four hits while walking one batter and striking out four. Only one of the four runs he allowed was earned. Parker Zubrys was 1 for 3 with two RBIs and two steals; Bryce Deaney was 1 for 2 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored; and Bryce Arceneaux was 1 for 1 off the bench with a double, a walk and a run.