After winning a crucial series against Zion Benton, the Lake Forest Scouts Varsity baseball team took the field Friday evening at West Campus against the Glenbrook North Spartans who belong to the Central Suburban Leage-South.  The Spartans are currently (6-4) and in fourth place in conference play and have an (11-13) mark overall. The Scouts looked to extend their winning streak to three, but that was easier said than done, especially against a team like Glenbrook North, the alma mater of Indian’s second baseman Jason Kipnis. Friday’s game turned into one of the most thrilling Scout baseball games of the year.

Lake Forest’s starting pitcher, Drew Golde, blanked the Spartans in the first inning of the contest, but failed to do the same in the second inning. The errors came back to haunt the Scouts Friday night when Jason Cast fumbled a ball hit to right field allowing batter Chris Karasinski to safely reach first base. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout later, Karasinski found himself at third base with two outs. Golde quickly got into trouble with Jake Kieffer at the plate when he pitched three straight balls. A couple of pitches later, Kieffer singled into center field allowing Karasinski to easily score from third base. Although Glenbrook North couldn’t tack on another run in the second, they would expand their lead in the following inning.

Once again, the Scouts didn’t get off to the start they wanted to in the top half of the inning. Kevin Burnside began the Spartans third with a double to right field and advanced to third in the following at bat on a ground ball to second base. With one out in the inning, Karasinski got in on the action once again when he sent a sacrifice bunt down the first base line allowing Burnside to score. Glenbrook North’s starting pitcher, Josh Fern, was dominant in the first four innings of the contest only allowing the Scouts to get two hits. With a two run lead and a stellar defense, things were looking good for the Spartans.

After a smooth start to the game, Josh Fern walked the first batter of the fifth inning, Charlie Reinkemeyer, but seemed to get things back under control when he got Andrew Gough to pop out on the next at-bat. Things seemed to be clicking once again for the Spartans starting pitcher, but all of a sudden the tides turned. With one out in the inning Jason Cast sent a double to left fielder Jake Kieffer, who was able to get the ball back to the infield quickly enough to not allow Reinkemeyer to score. In the next at-bat Brian Heidbreder reached on a full count walk to load up the bases with one out. At that point the head coach of Glenbrook North, Dom Savino, had seen enough. He replaced Josh Fern with Ben Harkey, hoping that he would get the Spartans out of the inning. Harkey managed to strike out the first batter that he faced and was one out away from getting his team out of a huge jam. Caleb Durbin, who has been very consistent at the plate this year wasn’t just looking to cut the Spartans lead in half. Rather, he wanted to catapult his team into the lead. On a 1-1 count Durbin sent West Campus into an absolute frenzy. He hit a rocket to right field that got passed Kevin Burnside allowing all three base runners to score while he reached third on a three RBI triple giving the Scouts a one run advantage. Durbin’s beyond clutch hit significantly changed the ballgame.   

Entering the top of the sixth, the Scouts were full of momentum, but that quickly changed when Lake Forest got off to yet another ugly start to an inning. Drew Golde plunked leadoff hitter Evan Barnes, then gave up a single to Thomas Witty. With nobody out in the inning, Jake Kieffer dropped a sacrifice bunt that advanced both runners 90 feet closer to home plate. After a solid performance from Drew Golde, Lake Forest Scout’s coach Ray Del Fava opted to go to the bullpen, bringing out Will Woidat, who didn’t necessarily get off to the start that he was hoping for.

Woidat gave up a single to Andrew Klein to begin his outing, which allowed Evan Barnes to score and tie up the game at three. The worst of the inning followed right after Barnes’s single. Jimmy Karfis hit a double to left field which granted Thomas Witty with plenty of time to score giving the Spartans the lead right back. Woidat prevented any further damage in the sixth inning finishing it with back-to-back strikeouts. The Scouts, however, refused to give up.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Scouts were desperate for an answer. With one out in the inning Drew Golde hit a double to right field, which at least gave the Scouts a chance at tying the game. The next Scouts batter lined out to right field, so the Scouts would need a two out rally. Ben Harkley got into significant trouble once again. He had walked two straight batters to load up the bases with two outs. For the second time, the Lake Forest Scouts had the bases loaded with two outs trailing.

Johnny Salm stepped up to the plate looking to do some damage. Just like Caleb Durbin did an inning ago, Johnny Salm made West Campus go nuts again as he hit a double to right field scoring Drew Golde and Jason Cast, giving the Scouts a one run lead once again. One more inning and an instant classic against Glenbrook North would be theirs.

In the bottom of the seventh inning Will Woidat did not give Glenbrook North a single chance at coming back. The Spartan batters went three up three down in the seventh and the Lake Forest Scouts secured a 5-4 victory and their third straight win. The Lake Forest Scouts seem to be getting hot at the right time.

Pitching was steady Friday night and the defense was solid, but the two biggest moments in the game were when Caleb Durbin hit a three run triple and Johnny Salm hit a two run double. Both hits came with two outs, the bases loaded, and the Scouts trailing. There was an immense amount of pressure on each player when they came up to the plate, but they both overcame adversity and delivered the game’s biggest hits.  

The Scouts will play their second straight non-conference game Saturday afternoon at 3:00 when they take on St. Joseph. From there, they will start up their three game set on the road against North Suburban Conference powerhouse Mundelein Monday afternoon.  

In other news, Lake Forest Baseball alum Cal Coughlin struck out the side for TCU in the 11th last night.

Coughlin strikes out the side in the 11th and we go to the bottom of the inning tied at 10. #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/PKPbYqVF81

— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) May 6, 2017