ALTON – Steven Nguyen came up with two big plays early on in Alton's 8-4 win over Jersey Monday afternoon.
Nguyen speared a line shot from Logan Simpson's bat in the top of the third and threw to catcher Steven Pattan to force Daniel Williams at home; Pattan then threw to Brandon Droste at first to finish a 1-2-3 double play that cut the heart out of a Panther rally after the bases were loaded.
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Then, in the bottom of the inning, Nguyen connected with a pitch and sent it deep for a bases-clearing double that put the Redbirds up 7-0, essentially putting the game away.
“It was a fastball,” Nguyen, a senior, said of the pitch that he connected on for the double. “I just reacted to it.”
Nguyen got the win for the Redbirds on the day, going 2.2 innings and giving up an earned run on three hits while walking five and striking out one. “My fastball and change-up were working today,” Nguyen said. “My curveball was a little off, but those things happen.”
Nguyen also went 2-for-3 with the double and three RBIs in the win.
Alton using their players as both pitchers and position players this season should help Nguyen, he believes. “You just play a position and then going to the mound makes me more athletic,” Nguyen said. “It will help as the season goes on.”
Team play will be a key element for the Redbirds this year. “A lot of us aren't egoistic at all,” Nguyen said. “We've bonded with each other really well; we've been together with each other forever, so we just work together.”
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