Baseball: Cary-Grove, Jacobs settle nothing through nine innings in suspended FVC game

CARY – Jacobs junior righthander Braden Behrens began doing the math and figuring things out late last week.

Behrens told Golden Eagles coach Jamie Murray that he wanted to pitch Wednesday at Cary-Grove, since it likely would be Illinois-Chicago-bound Ethan Dorchies on the hill for the Trojans.

Behrens rose to the occasion and locked into an even battle with Dorchies through six innings before both were lifted because of IHSA pitch count limitations.

Eventually, the game was tied at 6-all and called after nine innings for darkness. The teams were to meet again at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, depending on the weather, to finish the game.

“He wanted this challenge. He pitched well,” Murray said. “He’s not going to overpower people, he’s a pitch-to-contact guy. It was just a couple of miscues on us and it’s stuff we can clean up. We just had a couple mishaps we’ll clean up and he gave us a chance.”

Behrens struck out six, allowed eight hits and two earned runs and did not walk a batter in 6 1/3 innings.

“It was great,” Behrens said. “I told Murr I wanted the matchup. I threw against Huntley and did all right. I just wanted to throw my game. My fastball worked really well, they were late on it. I had my two-seam going a lot and I knew my defense was behind me. Throw strikes and let them hit it.”

Dorchies sees it as a respect thing when opponents are looking to face him.

“He’s a good kid. Honestly, I love that competition where you see the guy across the way dealing,” Dorchies said. “You have to up your game to match him.

“It’s great when you hear people from other teams say, ‘Oh, we’re seeing Dorchies today,’ or something like that. That really ups your confidence going into the game.”

Dorchies struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and two earned runs. The Golden Eagles (11-3, 4-2) scraped up an unearned run after Dorchies left and the Trojans (7-8, 3-4) leading 4-3 and needing one out to finish.

Owen Ziaja, who was 3 for 5 with two RBIs, got the game-tying single to score pinch runner Brady Forkin. Each team scored twice in the eighth and neither team managed a run in the ninth, at which point the game was called.

“(Dorchies) competed. He didn’t have his best stuff today. Give Jacobs credit, they barreled him pretty good,” Trojans coach Ryan Passaglia said. “He missed some pitches up and they hit them hard.

“He’s doing a much better job this year of making little adjustments. He just competes. When he pitches, everybody feels like we can win. He gave us the same outing he gives us every time.”

Jacobs got two walks to start the third inning and both runners advanced on a passed ball, but Dorchies came back with two strikeouts and a popup to end the inning unscathed.

“It wasn’t my worst, but not my best, obviously,” Dorchies said. “Some untimely walks, too good of 0-2 pitches sometimes, leaving stuff down the middle. I was trying to work corners, but sometimes I gave a pitch too good and they hit it. It’s going to happen.

“(In the third inning) I was like, ‘I walked two guys, can’t be doing that.’ And I got in a different mode where I attacked the zone 100% and see if they could hit it. It ended up working out.”

Peyton Seaburg worked the final 2 1/3 for C-G and did not allow an earned run.

Jacobs’ Jacob Torres entered after Hayden Dieschbourg doubled with one out in the seventh and stranded him at third with a strikeout and a flyout to center field.

Seaburg got an RBI sacrifice fly and Dieschbourg had an RBI single in the eighth, but Gage Martin left the bases loaded with a popup to send the game to the ninth inning.