Jacobs already faced a difficult task with a young batting order during a season when pitching rules in the Fox Valley Conference.
The Golden Eagles look even less experienced this week without Nebraska recruit Mike Addante in his customary leadoff spot.
Addante, a senior center fielder, left a 6-0 win over Conant Saturday with a knee injury and also missed Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Lake South.
Coach Jamie Murray said Addante is waiting to hear back from doctors about the injury’s severity.
“As of now, he cannot play baseball,” Murray said.
Losing Addante, who is hitting .339 with 19 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits, doesn’t help the inexperienced Golden Eagles.
“Adam Kale and Mike Addante are the only two returning offensive guys for us,” Murray said. “Everyone else is going to go through hiccups.
“I love this group, and at the end of the season they’re going to be a much better squad because they’re going to get the experience. We’ve just got to go through this conference – which is a brutal conference – with our talent and grow.”
Junior outfielder Braeden Wegner replaced Addante in the leadoff spot.
Jacobs (13-6) has had more than its share of injuries in recent years. Junior Ryan McGorrian broke his wrist lifting weights last year and missed almost the entire season, while senior leader Casey Dennison suffered a broken hand.
The Golden Eagles recently have had big numbers from McGorrian. He’s hitting .307 with four home runs, 11 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs.
“He probably missed 95 percent of our season last year after his injury,” Murray said. “Again, he’s like a lot of our other guys with experience.
“By postseason we’ll put our best nine out there and our arms, and the team will have been through the experience. We’re always confident in our formula, or recipe, the way we do things to bring them along.”
Pitcher’s nightmare: Number of pitches seen by batters is a critical statistic, especially with a high school pitch count in effect. So it’s easy to see why Northern Illinois valued Dundee-Crown outfielder Erik Hedmark enough to offer him a scholarship.
The junior leads Dundee-Crown (7-10) in pitches seen with 261 through 17 games. He has walked 18 times in 64 plate appearances and is batting .333. Bottom line: He wears down pitchers.
“His on-base percentage is over .500, so he’s having a great year for us,” Dundee-Crown coach Matthew Mueller said.
It was officially .531 after Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to Prairie Ridge.
Monday’s 1-0 loss at Bartlett was a typical Hedmark game. He saw 27 pitches in four plate appearances. The rest of the team combined saw 109. In Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to Prairie Ridge, he saw 25.
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Sage advice: Outfielder/third baseman Tyler Koss agrees with coach Andy Jakubowski’s advice to the team about batting averages and offensive numbers.
“Coach said not to worry about averages or numbers and just look at what needs to be done to win,” Koss said.
Considering the pitching depth in the Fox Valley, it’s good advice.
Huntley had won 11 straight through Tuesday. The Red Raiders (16-3) did it with pitching and defense, but also by not wasting their hits. A premium is placed on moving runners.
Red Raiders pitchers have given up 2.4 runs per game in the 11-game streak. But six times the Red Raiders won during the streak with their offense producing five hits or fewer.
“I’m happy with the way we’re manufacturing runs,” Jakubowski said. “Guys are selfless, moving runners and are getting timely hits. The hitting will eventually come.”
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