Baseball: Post 57 takes third place at Early Bird Tournament
By Gene Chamberlain For Sun-Times Media June 10, 2012 7:03PM
Elgin Post 57's David Palmer pitches during the third inning of Sunday's game against Lake In The Hills at Wing Park. | Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: July 12, 2012 6:13AM
Elgin Post 57’s new coach Jason Richardson came into his team’s Early Bird Tournament with a lot of anticipation and questions.
A good many of those were answered as the American Legion team went 3-1 and finished third in the tournament at Wing Park by beating Lake In the Hills Post 1231 on Sunday by the tournament’s eight-run slaughter rule, 9-1.
“I think we’re coming together real well,” Richardson said. “(Saturday) I was a little disappointed in our performance. We were kind of lax. But they came out here today and proved me wrong. Today we came in and pitched real well. David Palmer came in and did a hell of a job.”
Palmer threw a two-hitter for the six-inning game. The South Elgin High hurler struck out two, walked two, hit a batter and gave up only a leadoff home run in the third inning by Brandon King.
“I had a week and a half off after high school and didn’t have to throw,” Palmer said. “It was a nice rest. Then I got into one of the earlier tournament games for one inning and it was a nice warm up.
“I just came out here and was throwing strikes.”
Palmer, like many of the South Elgin players on Post 57’s team, is also playing for the South Elgin High IHSA summer team.
“I’d say pitching here it’s a little harder,” Palmer said. “It’s like an area all-star team — the best players from the area.
“We were hitting well, the pitchers in the tournament were throwing strikes, and we played consistent baseball.”
Richardson expects pitching like Palmer’s effort will become common for Elgin, which beat Portage Park 8-7, lost to New Lenox 8-5 and won by forfeit over Plainfield earlier in the tournament.
“It looks like we’ve got two or three real horses who are going to take us far,” he said. “We’re jelling as a team.
“I’d say we were at a 2 level when this tournament started, but now we’re at a 6 or 7.”
Elgin had eight hits and coaxed five walks from losing pitcher Bob Schute of Marengo High. Jake Buhman went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a double, Nevan Jeske doubled in a run in the fourth, Dan Grzywa singled in a run in the four-run fifth, and Luke Duffy drove in the first run in the two-run second with an infield ground out. Post 57 had two runs on wild pitches and two more on throwing errors.
And the last run of the game came when pinch-hitter Joe Crivolio stepped in and launched a sixth-inning leadoff home run to left to end it by the slaughter rule.
“He was going to come into the game to pitch the final inning, and now I guess he won’t be doing it,” team GM Bob Todd said, laughing.
Lake in the Hills finished 2-2 with a 15-6 win over Elmhurst, a 6-5 win over Lake Zurich and an 8-6 loss to Northbrook besides the defeat by Elgin.
