By Drake Skleba

ADDISON – It was showdown Saturday in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division in Addison. No. 21 Hinsdale South took on the hosts from Addison Trail in a battle for the top spot in the conference. Both clubs entered the doubleheader with identical 10-2 league marks.

Hinsdale South (21-4; 12-2) made it look easy, as the Hornets rolled past the Trail Blazers 7-1, behind a four-hitter from Villanova-bound right-hander Emmanuel Morris (5-2), in game one.

In game two, the Hornets hammered out seven runs and 11 hits in the first four innings and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Addison Trail put three runs on the board in the sixth but the Hornets hung on for a 7-3 game two win.

With the sweep, the Hornets open up a two-game lead on Addison Trail (18-10; 10-4) in West Suburban Gold play. The two clubs will wrap up the three-game series in Darien on Tuesday at 4:30.

Game 1: Hinsdale South 7, Addison Trail 1,   

The first three Hornet hitters hit line drives off of Addison-Trail left-hander Mike Imperiale (6-1). ISU-bound Sean Beesley tripled, junior D.J. Deolitis singled home Beesley and Morris hit a shot off the ankle of Imperiale, which ended his day on the mound.

Addison Trail scored their lone run on an RBI single by junior Greg Schultz. Schultz would go on to have a perfect day at the plate with two singles and a walk.

Hinsdale South plated a pair of unearned runs in the fourth to extend the Hornets lead to 4-1. In the fifth, Hornet first baseman Dan Foody tripled and scored on a wild pitch and in the seventh, senior Mitch Duckhorn crushed a booming two-run double to conclude the Hornet scoring.

Meanwhile on the mound for the Hornets, future Villanova Wildcat Emmanuel Morris was dealing. After giving up the run in the first, Morris slammed the door on the Blazers the rest of the way.

“I felt it was very important that I pitch well today and give us a step up in this big three-game series,” said Morris. “I challenged the hitters at the plate and my offense gave me a lot of support. It's great to get this opener.”

Deolitis finished with a pair of hits and two RBI for the Hornets. Junior shortstop Jerry Stoltz put on a defensive clinic around short and chipped in with two hits.

Game 2: Hinsdale South 7, Addison Trail 3

The Hornet bats came out smoking in game two. The Hornets had five hits and a pair of runs in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. P.J. Schuster singled home a run and went on to a 2-for-4 day.

The Hornets had seven runs and 11 hits through four innings to give junior right-hander Mike Marrera (4-0) a 7-0 lead after five. Marrera had scattered four hits and was dominant on the mound for South.

“I like working fast and I used my fastball  and change-up effectively,” said Marrera.“We really hit the ball well and our defense was fabulous until that bad sixth.”

In the bottom of the sixth, the stellar Hinsdale South defense caught the virus that is sweeping the state. On three successive grounders, the Hornets committed errors, allowing a run and putting the Blazers in business.

With one out, Addison Trail received back-back RBI singles from senior Anthony Kalbas and junior Jordan Garcia, which knocked out Marrera. Out of the pen came Hornet junior RHP Matt Reshke. Reshke immediately induced a 6-3 inning ending double play. Reshke knocked down the Blazers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh.

“I felt really good out there today,” said Reschke. “I hit my spots and made a number of good pitches.”

Morris and Duckhorn led the Hornet offense in game two. Morris was 3-for-4 with a clutch two-run single in the second. Duckhorn singled home a run in the third and in the fifth ripped his second two-run double of the day.

“The ball looked like a beach ball today,” said Duckhorn. “It's great to be in the position we are in, in the conference race.”

The 21st-ranked Hornets will send out ace right-hander P.J. Schuster (6-0) on Tuesday looking to sweep the Blazers and clinch a tie for the WSC-Gold title.

“We are really playing great ball of late,” said Hinsdale South head coach Paul Hoel. “Emmanuel (Morris) and Mike (Marrera) pitched great for us today. Matt (Reschke) was tremendous in relief for us and Mitch has been killing the baseball as of late.

“We have been playing tremendous defense as of late,” Hoel added. “I don't know what happened in the sixth but we survived it and came away with a huge sweep.”