Baseball: Lockport applies pressure to Lincoln-Way West

NEW LENOX – An oversimplified description of what the Lockport baseball team is trying to achieve on offense is creating traffic jams.

Put enough baserunners in play, and eventually good things are bound to happen.

The Porters rapped 16 hits and took advantage of multiple miscues committed by their hosts from Lincoln-Way West on their way to a 13-8 SouthWest Suburban Conference victory Thursday afternoon.

“That’s our style,” Lockport coach Scott Malinowski said. “For the most part we’re aggressive, we’re hard-nosed and we’re always going to push the envelope. Sometimes the scoreboard might not work out in our favor, but at the end of the day, we’re going to look to put pressure on the other team anyway we possibly can.”

That pressure application was needed after the teams traded the lead back and forth in the early innings. Lincoln-Way West (10-4, 2-1 SWSC) took what turned out to be its last lead when it went up 7-6 in the fourth, but Lockport quickly responded to that surge by answering with a four-run fifth, fueled by a two-run single by Jake Schindler.

It was just a piece of a big day from Schindler, who went 3 for 3 with four RBIs and a walk.

“It’s the same for everybody on this team. We’re looking for situational hitting and to hit the ball the other way,” Schindler said. “It wasn’t just me. It was the whole team that did it, and it shows with the runs we put on the board. Everyone trusted the process, process over results, and the score shows that.”

Lockport (9-4, 2-1) also needed to get a big lift from its bullpen. After starter Dylan Nagle tired, Lockport went to the pen to get Jake Ferkaluk, whose relief appearance started ominously when he allowed a single on his first offering to Dominic Saso, who went 4 for 4 for the Warriors. But Lockport cut down the lead runner at third base on the hit, getting Ferkaluk off the mound and the Porters off the field down just 7-6.

The Porters then strung together four consecutive hits to start their half of the fifth and finished the inning with a 10-7 lead. With renewed confidence, Ferkaluk went back to work. He would record five strikeouts over the next two innings and surrender only two hits and a run in the sixth while getting through the dangerous heart of the Lincoln-Way West lineup.

“Ferk was huge. Again, he’s a guy who is just fearless,” Malinowski said. “He’s a little unorthodox in terms of his delivery to say the least but he’s done a good job of throwing strikes. And what he was doing that our starter wasn’t doing was he was able to throw two pitches for strikes. Our starter, Nagle, was really struggling with his breaking ball command.”

It looked like Lockport was going to run away with the game early on as it scored five runs in its half of the second inning, benefiting greatly from a pair of Lincoln-Way West errors. Giovani Zaragoza was the biggest benefactor of the misplays, as he hit what appeared to be a routine single to left field which went right through the defender and rolled all the way to the fence. Zaragoza, who does not lack for speed, took advantage by zooming all the way around the bases to score.

Lincoln-Way West closed the gap quickly, however, as five consecutive batters reached in the second to trim it to 5-3. The Warriors got a home run from Cole Crafton and an RBI double from Joey Manzo to knot the score at 5-all at the end of three innings. But despite the fact that it would reclaim the lead once more, Lincoln-Way West’s offense wasn’t nearly potent enough the rest of the way to keep up with the relentless Lockport attack.