Early runs carry Coal City past Streator, to 5-0 in ICE

STREATOR – The Coal City baseball team was presented a couple opportunities for a big innings early in Monday’s Illinois Central Eight Conference visit to Streator, and the Coalers took advantage.

The host Bulldogs, when given the same opportunities in the middle innings, did not.

That proved to be the difference in Coal City’s 10-5 triumph at the SHS Athletic Fields, with the visitors’ seven runs in the top halves of the opening two innings holding up while the Bulldogs left 11 on base, including a half dozen during the third and fourth frames.

“That was really, really nice to get off to a good start there,” Coal City coach Greg Wills said. “We had a couple big hits, a couple hit b pitches to give us some baserunners ... and we managed to get them in.

“[Streator] is always tough. This is my 30th year coaching baseball in Coal City, and I never remember it being easy over here.”

Coal City – which came in off its first two losses of the season Saturday to Plainfield North – improves to 13-2 overall, 5-0 in the ICE.

Streator slips to 6-8, 2-3 ahead of the teams’ series finale Tuesday in Coal City.

The Coalers’ four-run top of the first featured an RBI single from left fielder Blaine Doss and a two-run single off the bat of second baseman Dylan Young. Young would go on to add a third RBI with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

“We were able to put the ball in play with two strikes,” Young said of his and his teammates’ offensive success. “We’ve been really working on ‘don’t get beat away,’ and when [Streator starter Jake Hagie] threw it away, we were making him pay, just putting the ball in play. On a field like this, you’ve got to put it in play.”

Coal City followed up its four-run first with three more in the second including a Connor Henline RBI single. Streator throwing errors opened the door in both innings. Even though only one run was earned, those seven tallies chased Hagie (2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K) in favor of reliever Isaiah Weibel.

The hard-throwing Weibel (5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K) did an admirable job keeping his team in the ballgame. At the same time, the Streator offense climbed back into it with one run in the second (Colin Byers solo home run) and two each in the third (Weibel two-run double) and fourth (Keegan Angelico two-RBI single).

A big inning that would have offset Coal City’s early runs, however, eluded the Bulldogs, who left the bases loaded in both the third and the fourth.

“The biggest thing I talked to them about after the game, we had the bases loaded with one out, we’re still in the ballgame, and we had back-to-back strikeouts,” Streator coach Beau Albert said. “And then the same thing happened in the fourth inning when it was 8-5, bases loaded and a strikeout again.

“The memo to the kids after the game: If we can find ways to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, we can be tough to beat too. When we get empty at-bats ... that’s going to kill you.”

Streator never really threatened the Coalers’ advantage after that, thanks to the work of left-handed pitchers Lance Cuddy (win, 5 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 13 K) and Ethan Olson (2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K).

Cuddy offensively finished with three hits and two runs scored, Gavin Berger with two hits and four runs scored, and Yound with the aforementioned three RBIs for Coal City. Gage McHugh, Henline, Olson and Doss added a hit and an RBI apiece.

For Streator, Angelico finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs, Weibel drove home two, Byers provided his solo home run and Blaize Bressner had a pair of Baltimore chop infield singles.