It all starts with one win. This one win can be the base of something great for a team that had been struggling. No team needed that one momentous, dominant win more than the Lake Forest Scouts Varsity baseball team. On Tuesday evening at West Campus, the Scouts took the playing field against Lake Zurich at West Campus in hopes of a new beginning.

In the recent past, the Scouts had a hard time getting off to a great start. Yesterday, however, that changed substantially. After Scouts starting pitcher Peter Turelli shutout the Lake Zurich Bears in the first, Lake Forest attacked on offense. Right out of the gate the Bears’ defense was suspect. In fact, leadoff hitter Caleb Durbin got on base thanks to an error by shortstop Michael Chialdikas. If that was not enough Lake Forest to take advantage off Lake Zurich, Durbin stole both second and third base and eventually crossed the plate when Drew Golde hit a single to left field. A steal and a wild pitch later, Golde found himself at third base with no outs just like Durbin had moments before. Charlie Reinkemeyer supplied the Scouts with their second run of the evening when he hit a deep fly ball to right field allowing Golde to tag up and cross home. Believe it or not, the Scouts still were not done beating up on the Bears in the first inning. Andrew Gough produced the third and final RBI of the inning, which gave Lake Forest an early 3-0 lead. This time the Scouts wouldn’t allow their opponent to come back.

After a scoreless second inning, the Lake Forest Scouts provided some extra cushion for Peter Turelli in the third. Andrew Athenson and Brad Czerniejewski both had two out RBI singles expanding the team’s lead to five runs. The Scouts tacked on one more run in the fourth when Drew Golde scored on a Caleb Durbin on a grounder to third. By then the Scouts were up by six runs. It would have had to take a miraculous comeback for the Bears to get back in it, but in baseball you can’t assume anything, and the Scouts were not ready to let up. With a Scouts victory likely within grasp but still uncertain, the Scouts made sure the Lake Zurich Bears would have absolutely no chance at a comeback in the sixth inning.

After a walk, a single, and another walk, the Scouts were ready to capitalize again in the 6th. With no outs, Lake Forest had the bases loaded. Bears pitcher Shane Nolan couldn’t catch a break. Without an out in the inning, Nolan issued his third walk, but this time it didn’t just cost Lake Zurich a baserunner, but also a run. The problems just didn’t stop for the senior pitcher. Right after he walked in a run, he threw a wild pitch that got by the catcher, easily allowing Drubin to score from 3rd giving the Scouts a 8-0 lead. After Andrew Gough went down looking–giving Nolan his fourth and final strikeout of the contest–Paul Turelli decided to put the cherry on top for the Lake Forest Scouts’ baseball performance of the year. On a 2-1 count, Turelli massacred a baseball beyond the left field fence resulting in a game winning three run bomb. Lake Zurich was forced to wave the white flag due to the slaughter rule. The whole Scouts team was elated with their 11-0 victory. Now the looming question is: Will this game be the turning point that gets the Scouts back on the winning track? The Scouts proved how dangerous they could be Tuesday night.

Yes, the offense on Tuesday evening was terrific. They put up 11 runs, which is not an easy task against whatever team you play at the Varsity level, but that wasn’t the best part about the game. Not only did Lake Zurich have a giant goose egg on the scoreboard at the end of the game, they only had one hit. Peter Turelli was at the top of his game. Turelli came as close as one could possibly come to pitching a no hitter without actually doing so. He threw all six innings, only giving up one hit and a walk. This was an ace-like performance. Also, the defense behind Turelli was equally on point. Limited errors along with some eye popping plays kept Lake Zurich runners out of scoring position resulting in little pressure on Turelli. It wasn’t only the offense that was clicking Tuesday night.

The rubber match of the series is slated to be played Wednesday night in Lake Zurich. With a heap of momentum from their best performance of the season, Lake Forest will now try to climb back to the top of the North Suburban Conference.