Morris' Cole Laurie, shown here in a game against Minooka earlier this season, hit a walk-off home run Tuesday as the Redskins tripped Kaneland, 11-10.
MORRIS — Cole Laurie provided an exciting finish to a wild game Tuesday for the Morris baseball team, as his walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Redskins (9-3, 1-1) an 11-10 Northern Illinois Big 12 Eaat win over Kaneland.
“Nothing seemed to go right for us at their place on Monday [a 13-0 loss], and today we had just enough go right for us," Morris coach Todd Kein said.
Morris, which visits Kaneland in the third game of the series Thursday, jumped on the Knights early, posting seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kaneland, though, answered with six in the top of the second, then tacked on single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth while Morris scored three in the bottom of the fourth to make it 10-10 heading into the bottom of the seventh and setting up Laurie's heroics.
Laurie had three of Morris' six hits and finished with two RBIs, while Zach Reddinger had a double and drove in four runs. Patrick McCabe and Chatten Dryfhout (RBI) also doubled for Morris, while Logan Edwards, Alex Cameron and winning pitcher Luke Olbrot each had an RBI.
Olbrot threw three relief innings for the win, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits and striking out three.
Kaneland 13, Morris 0: In the NIB 12 opener Monday, the Redskins managed just three hits - singles by Cole Laurie, Zach Reddinger and Logan Edwards.
Coal City 6, Sandwich 3: Tyson Spencer went 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts Tuesday as the Coalers (11-2, 2-0) completed the Interstate Eight Conference sweep of Sandwich. Austin Pullara led the offense, going 4 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Payton Hutchings (RBI) added two hits, while Keegan Gagliardo (RBI) doubled.
Coal City 7, Sandwich 0: On Monday, Keegan Gagliardo threw four scoreless innings for the win, while Connor Best struck out six in three relief innings for the save. Austin Pullara had two hits with an RBI, while Mickey McDowell had a triple and two RBIs.
Seneca 12, Woodland 5: Sam Grushkin had a big day for the Irish (7-4, 4-0) in the Tri-County Conference win. He got the win on the mound, striking out 12 in 5 2/3 innings and also went 2 for 3 with two home runs and three RBIs at the plate. Teammate Brody Baudino was 4 for 4 with a double and five RBIs, while Cole Underhill was 2 for 3 with four RBIs. Myles Mitchell and Gage Cryder each had a triple among two hits.
Newark 7, Hinckley-Big Rock 4: Corey Jacobson led Newark's offense, going 2 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored. Jacob Slivka had a triple and an RBI, while Ethan Jeffers had a double and an RBI. Winning pitcher Tegan Kruzer allowed two hits and struck out two in four innings.
Sycamore 5, Morris 3: The Redskins lost a tight to Class 3A third-ranked Sycamore. Jaelyn Wiers led the offense with 2 hits and an RBI. Kennedy Dransfeldt and Olivia Schultz also added a hit and an RBI, while Madigan Doss, Paige Thorson, Madison Shannon, and Maddy Hughes also had hits. Maddie Noon took the loss on the mound, going all seven innings and giving up eight hits and four earned runs.
Gardner-South Wilmington 10, Faith Christian 0: Paige Patterson (2 doubles), Carson Halpin, and Shelby Serena (triple) had two hits each for the Panthers (5-5). Serena threw four innings for the win, while Katelyn Farris and Claire Hennessy each threw in relief.
Coal City 12, Sandwich 7: Abby Pelnarsh and Sydney Singleton each had three hits to lead the Coalers, who erupted for 10 runs in the top of the sixth inning in the Interstate Eight Conference win. Madeline Ragain had a triple and three RBIs, while winning pitcher Zoe Wills also tripled. Madison Emerson, Makenna Crater and Pelnarsh each had two RBIs.
Morris 3, Lisle 2: In singles play Tuesday, Morris' Eli Davy defeated Josh Glavanovits, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1; and the Redskins' Nolan Robbins won a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Ben Mocarski. In doubles, the Morris team of Patrick McPherson and Ben Doss defeated Reese Vasich and Sam Vasich, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.