First inning sets tone in 8-1 Sycamore win over Ottawa

OTTAWA — There isn’t much better for a starting pitcher on the road than to see his teammates put up multiple runs in the opening inning.

That was the case for Sycamore sophomore Jackson Macdonald in Thursday’s rubber game of the three-game Interstate 8 Conference series against host Ottawa.

The Spartans tallied three runs in the top of the first, Macdonald escaped trouble in the bottom of the frame and went on to fire a shutout into the sixth in an eventual 8-1 victory.

“I was super excited walking to the mound in the first,” Macdonald said. “There have been times this season where our offense has struggled, so to get a three-run lead before you’ve even throw a pitch was a confidence boost. That allowed me to relax and just try and pound the strike zone.

“I figured out in the first inning I was going to have to go to my slider early in counts. Ottawa was ready for my fastball; I mean their No. 2 batter (Adam Swanson) hit one hard back up the middle right off the bat. Then from there I just wanted to locate my fastball, I left some pitches up high, but I felt like I was able to quickly adjust and come back with a solid pitch more often than not.”

Sycamore (15-9, 7-5) opened the scoring with an RBI single from Kyle Prebil off Swanson after Tyler Lojko led off with a hit and Davis Collie worked a walk. Sawyer Valdez drove in a run with a ground out and Prebil scored on the back end of a double steal.

In Ottawa’s turn, Colt Bryson walked and Swanson singled, before Sycamore used a throw behind the runner by catcher Adam Ender and a timing pickoff throw from Macdonald to record two outs.

“The first inning really set the tone today,“ Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said. “We were able to get our first three guys on and scored three runs, and then Ottawa’s first two guys reached but we were able to pick both of those guys off second base. I don’t know I’ve ever seen that, it’s a once in decade two play in a row sequence.”

The visitors added four runs in the fifth on RBI double from Lojko, a Jack Block RBI single, and a pair of Ottawa errors.

Macdonald went 5⅓ innings, allowing two hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Valdez came on and recorded the final five outs, giving up a run in the seventh.

“Jackson pitched a really good game for us today,” Cavanaugh said. “He has a ton of potential but has struggled with his location in most of his starts. I think today was the first time he’s pitched into the sixth and when the reliver you bring in only has to get four or five outs instead of 11 or 12 that makes a big difference, especially at the end of a week.”

Ottawa (12-13, 4-7) broke up the shutout in their last at-bats as Jacob Rosetto led off with a single and eventually scored on a ground out off the bat of Jaxon Cooper.

Swanson (Loss, 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Noah Marvin (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) shared mound duties for the Pirates.

“We weren’t mentally sharp today,” Ottawa coach Levi Ericson said. “We spot them three runs in the first and then start our half of the inning strong before getting picked off twice in scoring position with our No. 3 hitter in the box. We want to be aggressive on the base paths, but situationally aggressive and we failed in those instances. I felt we mentally checked out after the first inning.

“We just weren’t able to respond after the first inning, then they added on in the fifth and we just couldn’t get much going offensively. Now we’ll regroup and get ready for three games against Rochelle next week.”

Sycamore is back in action on Saturday at 10 a.m. hosting Crystal Lake Central. Ottawa is off until Monday when Rochelle comes to town.