By Bobby Narang –
The DuKane Conference is fully in swing in high school baseball.
After Batavia captured the football championship and Geneva claimed the boys basketball championship, St. Charles North is seeking to win the inaugural Conference baseball championship.
The North Stars notched their first Conference victory with an impressive 16-6 rout over Wheaton North Monday.
The North Stars trailed 4-2 in the top of the second inning, but broke open the game with three runs in the third and fourth innings and six runs in the fifth inning to close out the game. It was a memorable victory in many ways, when the Falcons’ pitchers hit seven North Star batters and the game ended on a wild pitch that allowed a run to score to create a 10-run rule in margin of score.
“It was crazy, a lot of wild pitches and hits batsmen,” St. Charles North head coach Todd Genke said. “The bottom line is we swung the bats pretty well. The first Conference victory in DuKane feels pretty good, against a quality team. We came in and said it’s the next level baseball for us.
“It’s exciting to see how the kids would react. We got down early and showed some mettle and answered back. All of a sudden, the floodgates opened.”
The North Stars returned just five positional players from last season’s 24-victory total, but sophomore shortstop Nick DeMarco is one of the top talents in the State. DeMarco committed to Notre Dame University in the offseason.
Genke said DeMarco is ready for the challenge of a bigger role.
“There’s no pressure with Nick,” Genke said. “You don’t see pressure on his face. I thought last year, as a freshman, there was some pressure on him. That’s tough to do….Last year, we put him at second base to take some of that pressure off.
“This year, we’re going to take the training wheels off and he’s going to (play) shortstop and hit in the four-hole. He’s also lights-out on the mound. He just handles pressure. That’s unusual for a high school kid, especially a sophomore. But he’s played at some high level travel baseball and a three-sport athlete and been in the grind. It’s fun to watch him compete. He’s the full package.”
• Wheaton North junior shortstop Ryan Nelson is a player to watch in the Conference. Nelson committed to the University of Iowa earlier this season, and has become a bigger part of the team following the graduation of Jackson Gray.
Nelson drilled a three-run home run to finish with three hits in Monday’s loss.
“I changed my approach at the plate this year,” Nelson said. “I have more confidence, which is really helping me. This offseason, I worked a lot on my mindset at the plate.”