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Blue Thunder win third in a row
The Belvidere North Blue Thunder baseball team picked up a trio of victories last week. With games against Guilford and Rockford East, the Blue Thunder rattled off a much-needed winning streak.
Coming into the week, the Thunder had an overall record of just 2-6. A 7-3 loss to Byron was the only game Belvidere North had played in the month of April. None of that mattered on Monday, April 8, when the Thunder hit the road to face off with Guilford.
It was the first of a two-game series. Despite being on the road for game one, North’s batters were comfortable in the box. The Thunder combined for 11 hits in the game, led by Jack Chamberlain’s four for four performance.
The Thunder didn’t take long to get rolling. They took a three-run lead in the top of the first inning. Dom Girardin’s aggressive baserunning paid off early as he scored the game’s first run on a passed ball.
North blew the game wide open with seven runs in the top of the fifth. Following a leadoff single by Robert Koeller, Guilford’s defensive struggles continued. Kaden McElroy was hit by a pitch just before Caleb Gallagly took a walk. Nolan Benney then reached safely on an error by Guilford’s shortstop, allowing another run to come in.
Before the end of the inning, three consecutive bases loaded walks to Trent Dinsmore, Josh Joseph and McElroy brought runs in. That put the finishing touches on a 13-3 victory for North. Chamberlain was perfect at the plate, adding three runs scored and two runs batted in to his four hits. Koeller went two for three with a run scored and two RBI. Jovanni Alvarez was two for three with two runs scored and one RBI.
Carson Ritchie got the win on the mound, pitching four innings with six strikeouts and three hits allowed. Koeller was excellent in relief, striking out the side.
Two days later, North met up with Guilford once again. Only this time, the Thunder had the luxury of playing at home. In the end, that home field advantage proved crucial to the Thunder.
North found themselves trailing multiple times in this one. Guilford took a 2-0 lead in the first. The Thunder didn’t take their first lead of the day until the bottom of the fifth, when a pair of runs put them up 4-3. A single to right by A Marshall drove in the runs.
Guilford quickly got those runs back in the next half inning, however. With two runs in the top of the sixth, Guilford regained the lead, setting things up for an exciting finish. The game eventually went into extra innings tied 5-5.
That’s where the home field advantage came into play for the Thunder. With Guilford being the away team, they had to bat first in extra innings. Luke Koeller was on the mound for North and two quick strikeouts had the momentum shifting.
In the bottom half, it was Luke who hit a double up the middle to give his team hope. Eventually, it was Robert Koeller’s single that drove in the game-winning run, giving North a walk off 6-5 victory.
Luke pitched two and one third innings in relief, collecting the win on the mound. At the plate, Luke went two for five with one run scored. Chamberlin was two for four with two runs scored and one RBI. Marshall went two for five with two RBI. Dinsmore was two for four with two RBI in the victory.
North closed the week with a blowout 26-1 victory over Rockford East to close the week. North combined for 18 hits, led by Alex Jokhy, who went three for three with four runs scored and five RBI. Caden Johnson was two for four with four runs scored and four RBI. Luke and Robert combined to go four for eight with three runs scored and four RBI. Gallagly was two for four with three runs scored and two RBI in the victory.
With the trio of wins, the Thunder improved to 5-6 on the season. On Friday, April 19, North is set to play host to Jefferson at 4:30 p.m.
