Peoria Woodruff @ Galesburg (Baseball)
(4/22/10)
Driving into Galesburg with the window down on this Thursday afternoon, I thought of three things that I just despise, my pet peeves if you will. Smoking, rolling the toilet paper under, and...littering.
I can handle smoking, it's a personal choice, and since I don't like, I walk away. The toilet paper is easy, I just turn it over. Littering. That's a whole different ball game. As I cruised down the highway, like I do every day, the trash littered across the sides of the highway just grinded my gears. There is no point to littering, it is pure laziness. Well...so is my throwing my garbage in the backseat of the car, but that's my own problem. So, as you head out on the road for your next trip, hang on to that McDonald's bag and throw it away. DON'T LITTER!
The Galesburg Silver Streaks baseball program has had to overcome some adversity this week, with four players suspended due to disciplinary reasons. All four are starters for the Streaks. Three of them will miss 1/3 of the season (about 11 games), while the fourth will just miss a couple games. Nate Olin, the latter, actually would get a couple plate appearances on this day, after sitting out two games. To hear my interview with coach Arnie Gonzalez, visit http://www.ihssn.net/interviews.htm.
Woodruff was already batting when I pulled into the baseball/softball complex at Galesburg High School. The Streaks softball team was practicing, and the sophomore baseball team was hosting Washington on another diamond. It was a pretty full complex.
I walked into Jim Sundberg Field, and found my place, just to the right of home plate. The field is named after former Texas Rangers all-star (and one-time Chicago Cubs, had to get that in there) Jim Sundberg, a Galesburg graduate.
My apologies to any Woodruff Warriors fans reading this, I may have some misspellings, as I never recieved a baseball roster. Jeremiah Williams was on base, and scored the first run of the game shortly after I arrived on a Nick Bart two-run single to give Woodruff a 2-0 lead after their half of the inning.
That was all the scoring the Warriors would be doing. The Streaks answered right back with a 5-run first inning, and never looked back, posting a slow-pitch beer league softball score (23-2). Zach McCrery scored the first run, after reaching on a single. Nick Milligan followed, a night after hitting a walk-off grand slam in a 5-1 win over Richwoods the night before. Milligan tied the game, at 2-2. Brock Bush cranked a 2-run single, and Jake Henderson right behind Bush in the order, followed suit, giving the Streaks that three-run lead.
After batting through the order in the first inning, Galesburg starting pitcher Jacob Taylor sat down Woodruff in concession, for a 1-2-3 inning. This is the final year of Woodruff baseball, as the school will be shutting it's doors at the end of the school year. Students will attend other Peoria District 150 schools, with most attending either Peoria Central or Peoria Manual next year.
Galesburg batted through the order again in the second inning, and led 13-2 after two. The inning was highlighted by a Zach McCrery 2-run home run over the left field fence (about 330-340 feet). McCrery would one-up himself later in the game, with a grand slam over the same spot. He finished the game, 3-3, with two home runs, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored. IHSSN will have a video interview of McCrery on Friday.
The Streaks rapped out seven hits, walked twice, and reached on one error in the second inning. Woodruff starter John Nemel lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up 10 runs on 9 hits. Shawn Whitelaw entered, but only pitched 2/3 of an inning, getting pulled in the third inning after giving up four runs, three walks, and a hit batsman.
With some pinch hitters getting at-bats in the third inning, Galesburg went through the order yet again, piling up seven more runs, taking a 20-2 lead. It was in this frame, that McCrery hit a grand slam, that scored Nate Olin (hit-by-pitch), Logan Scott (E4), and Jake Henderson (single).
In the fourth inning, the Warriors went down 1-2-3 once again, and the Streaks scored their final runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, with Cody Kukuk, Bo Merritt (video interview of Bo on Friday), and Jake Henderson scoring.
I was unable to catch the fifth inning due to trying to iron out some issues at the radio station. Technology is great, when you can log into the radio station's computer from a laptop at a baseball game!
After the game, I talked with Streaks head coach Arnie Gonzalez, and he pulled over Zach McCrery and Bo Merritt for video interviews. I complimented Merritt on a great first name, however he spells it differently.
The plans for Friday are to head back to Galesburg, to catch the Streaks hosting Canton, one of the preseason favorites in Class 2A softball. This may not come to fruition, with between a half and 3/4 inches of rain in the forecast. This could also wash out Saturday games as well.
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