Crystal Lake South powers up to beat Burlington Central

CRYSTAL LAKE – Mark Pachla lets his Crystal Lake South baseball teammates provide the power.

The senior right-hander retires hitters, just not with a blazing fastball.

“I’m definitely not going to overpower anybody,” Pachla said.

Pachla used a fast-enough fastball, changeup and curveball, Liam Sullivan hit a two-run homer late, and South survived an exciting top of the seventh inning to edge Burlington Central 6-5 on Tuesday in Fox Valley Conference action.

The victory completed a season sweep of the Rockets by South (11-6, 4-3).

Pachla (3-2), a senior righty who’s uncommitted, pitched 6⅓ innings, with Carson Trivellini getting a 9-6 double play to end the game and earn the save. Pachla allowed 10 hits, including four doubles, and five runs, only two of which were earned. He struck out only one and walked two.

Burlington Central (9-6, 2-5) stranded seven runners in the first four innings, before Pachla settled in. He retired seven in a row before Connor Finn led off the Rockets’ seventh with a single.

“I started living a little lower in the zone, and my curveball was biting a little more by the third inning or so,” Pachla said.

Sullivan, South’s leadoff hitter, gave Pachla two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth when he pulled a pitch over the fence in left field with Xander Shevchenko (two-out bunt single, 2 for 3) aboard. Sullivan’s first home run of the season hiked the Gators’ lead to 6-3.

“[Felt] pretty good,” said the Loras-bound Sullivan, who went 2 for 3. “I knew it off the bat.”

Burlington Central, however, loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh thanks to Finn’s single, an error and the third hit of the day by sophomore Liam Schultz (3 for 4). Wagner Viebrock’s RBI fielder’s choice and a throwing error on the same play got the Rockets’ within one and ended Pachla’s day.

Enter Carson Trivellini, who doubled off the top of the fence in left (missing a homer by about a foot) in South’s two-run third.

“I trust him,” Pachla said of Trivellini, the Gators’ starting shortstop and trusty reliever. “He’s a great player. He comes in a lot in these close games, and he gets it done, so I believe in him.”

Rockets designated hitter David Hintz worked the count to 3-2 against Trivellini and then hit a line drive right at right fielder Sullivan, who snagged the ball and threw to shortstop Yandel Ramirez on the second-base bag, doubling off Viebrock.

“We were playing in,” Sullivan said. “We knew (Hintz) wasn’t really a [long-ball] hitter. We just made our play.”

Kyle Nelson, who got his 400th win as Burlington Central’s coach Monday against Crystal Lake Central, had no problems with his team’s effort. Schultz’s RBI double staked the Rockets to a 1-0 lead in the first, but starter Gavin Bramer walked three in his 2⅓ innings.

Bramer was lifted after Ramirez’s RBI double tied the score at 3-3. Nick Stowasser’s run-scoring double two batters later gave South the lead for good.

“It was a really good high school game,” Nelson said. “We just needed to pitch in a little better counts. I think that was the story. We were behind and [gave South] a few too many free passes early, but any time you’re down three or down in the seventh, all you want to do is get the tying run to second base and have a guy have a chance, and (Hintz) did.”

Nelson wasn’t upset with Viebrock getting doubled up to end the game.

“Wagner was just trying to make an exciting play there and made the wrong read, and that happens,” Nelson said of the sophomore. “He’s young. He’s barely into his high school baseball career, and he’s going to learn from that.”

Chase Powrozek and Zane Pollack each had two hits, including a double, for the Rockets. Jake Johnson also doubled.