Game of the Week: Sandburg Walks All Over Andrew

Touching All the Bases: Sandburg hosted Andrew in a Southwest Suburban Conference baseball crossover between district rivals on Thursday, and the first inning of the Eagles' 7-3 victory turned out to be one of the crazier ways to start a ballgame. Sandburg pitcher Eric Chmielewski allowed one run on two hits and two walks and escaped the inning with the Thunderbolts leaving the bases loaded. Then, in the bottom of the first, the flood gates opened for the Eagles--who needed only one hit to score six runs. T-Bolts pitcher Ryan Malcom allowed the first five batters he faced to reach, two on walks and three others that were hit by pitches. Then, Sandburg's Tyler Witek launched a single to drive in two runs. The Eagles sent 11 hitters to the plate. One reached on an error, four were hit by pitches and four reached on walks.

Patch's MVP: Sandburg's Tyler Witek had the two-run single that broke the game open in the bottom of the first. He also reached base on an error and flew out to center.

Sandburg Leaders: Zach Reks (1-for-2, 2 walks, 2 runs scored); Eric Chmielewski (winning pitcher, 4.1 innings, 3 strikeouts,  3 earned runs); Brant Valech (2-for-2, 2 doubles, 1 run scored).

Andrew Leaders: Dan Durkin (3-for-4, 3 singles, 1 run scoreds); Pat Elget (1 -for-4, 1 double, 1 RBI).

Quotable I: Sandburg coach Doug Sutor: "That's efficency at its best--six runs on one hit. It's been a while since our game plan was get on the plate and take a strike. Our kids were smart. Every time we've played Andrew, they have scored in the first and we battled back. It was nice to put up a six-spot, but there were too many zeroes after that. We played good defense and threw strikes."

Quotable II: Andrew coach Dave DeHaan: "That first inning was something else, but I'm proud because Ryan (Malcom) kept us in the game after that. He could have very easily said 'I'm done. I can't find the strike zone.' He didn't do that. From the second inning on, he played like one of our best pitchers. We kept on fighting and we had chances. We fought to the end and hopefully that bodes well for the future."

Team Records: The Eagles are 2-1. The T-Bolts fell to 4-3.

What's Next: Both teams are on the road Saturday. Sandburg will play Romeoville, and Andrew heads to Marian Catholic.