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Sports

Battle of the Neighbors: SHS Prevails Over BG in Baseball

Patriots score seven runs in the sixth to spoil great outing by Buffalo Grove's Robert Hawkins.

That third-inning two-run double off the bat of Jack Karris was no accident. This athlete would gladly drive all of his hits to right field. However, heading to the sixth inning Saturday at Stevenson, the home-standing Patriots had only Karris' two-bagger to brag about.

That's because Buffalo Grove southpaw Robert Hawkins was throwing a near-masterpiece.

These two neighbors played to a 2-2 tie into the sixth inning. And then the Patriots bats exploded in the sixth inning. Seven runs and eight hits later and this game was on ice. Stevenson won the battle of neighbors 9-2.

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"That kid (Hawkins) was hitting his spots,'' said Stevenson coach Paul Mazzuca. "He knows how to pitch. He got into his groove."

Karras would be the only Patriots hitter to get two hits in this nonconference win. He sacrificed in the sixth inning, chasing leadoff hitter Mike Martin to second base. He batted again later in the sixth and delivered an RBI single.

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"We just came out slow with the bats,'' Karras said. "Their pitcher had good command but we can hit with anybody."

While the Pats' bats struggled against Hawkins, Buffalo Grove (8-8) placed a number of baserunners against Stevenson ace Isaac Greenspon. The Bison has baserunners on in every inning and twice loaded the bases without scoring a run.

"We had a lot of opportunities'' said BG coach Jeff Grybash. "It just didn't go our way.''

Grybash had no complaints about starting pitcher Hawkins.

"He varied his looks,'' he said. "He did a great job. When he gets ahead, he can be very competitive.''

Stevenson's sixth inning started innocently enough with a leadoff walk to Martin. After Karris' successful sacrifice bunt, the Pats bats went off.

There were run-scoring hits from Adam Walton and Ricky Kerns. There were RBI doubles from Max Golembo and Jacob Sholl. Catcher Steve Galanaopoulos drilled an RBI triple in the frame. Martin and Karras kept the inning going with RBI singles.

"Once we got going, we were able to string hits after hits,'' Karras said.

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