Sages best Rockets thanks to Young's composure, Rawdin's big swings
Apr. 10—TOLONO — Zeke Young wasn't originally scheduled to start on the mound in the Monticello baseball team's Illini Prairie Conference opener on Thursday at Unity. That start was reserved for Heyden Romano, but he injured his throwing hand earlier in the week and needed to sit out the game.
The short notice was no problem for Young, who said he was going to be ready to pitch regardless. The only problem was the Rockets were ready to hit. Tyler Henry drove the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning to the left-field gap for a double.
After back-to-back hit-by-pitches and a run-scoring error, Dane Eisenmenger launched a three-run home run over the left-field fence. "It was a nice start," Unity coach Tom Kimball said. "Scoring four runs against a good team in the first inning, you couldn't start any better than that.
" Then, Young settled in, and Monticello's lineup responded to give the Sages a 9-7 road win over their conference rival and move them to 13-0 on the season. "They've been around a lot of baseball," Monticello coach Chris Jones said. "All year, they've shown that they can grind out at-bats, stick to the course and trust the process, and we got there.
" The first key in coming back was Young. He looked like a completely different pitcher after giving up that first-inning homer, retiring 12 of the next 14 batters to keep Unity (6-2) at four runs. "Every pitch is a new pitch," Young said.
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