Prep Baseball Report

Nowik Shines For Lake Forest Over Lake Zurich


Phil Kerber
Assoc. Scout/JUCO Wire Editor

LAKE ZURICH, IL - Timely hitting and a dazzling performance on the mound from sophomore RHP Breck Nowik propelled Lake Forest to a 6-0 victory over Lake Zurich on Tuesday afternoon. The Scouts scratched across a run the first inning then used a four run sixth to extend their lead to 5-0 before adding another in the sixth.

Nowik and Lake Zurich’s own sophomore, LHP Noah Deluga, went back and forth for five innings with the only blemish being an unearned run allowed by Deluga in the first. Lake Forest leadoff man SS Caleb Durbin, a Washington University (MO) commit, started the game with single up the middle before scoring on a two-out error on a ball put in play by Middlebury commit, DH Andrew Gough. Deluga would come back to retire the next eight batters consecutively and touch 91 mph with his fastball in the process.

Durbin got the Scout’s big fourth inning started with a leadoff double. The next five batters would reach base safely and four runs would come across to score, forcing Deluga from the game in the process. Deluga struck out 12 batters over five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run.

What Deluga showed in arm strength, Nowik matched with finesse, working a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Lake Zurich RF Bryan Rasbid recorded the team’s first hit of the game with a one out double. Nowik answered back though with back-to-back strikeouts. His night would end in the sixth after striking out the first batter, due to pitch count. In the end Nowik tossed 6.1 innings of shutout baseball, allowing one hit, striking out 10 and walking two. Offensively, Nowik went 1-for-4 and helped his own cause with an RBI-single.

Offensively, Durbin and Gough led Lake Forest with multi-hit games. Durbin finished 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored and Gough went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Drew Golde and Griffin Strang had a hit apiece.

For more in-depth notes from the game - and all other games that we cover - visit the Illinois Scout Blog later.

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