EDWARDSVILLE – Jonathan Yancik had everything working for him in Friday night's Edwardsville baseball game at Tom Pile Field against Lockport.
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The Porters only had three runners on base in the first 5.2 innings – two on walks and a hit batsman – and was cruising along in the sixth when C.J. Wiens came to bat.
Wiens was jammed on a pitch and managed to get ahold of the Yancik offering just enough to flare it down the line in left, where it settled just inside the left-field line for a double to break up Yancik's bid for a no-hitter.
The Tigers won the game 3-2 on an RBI double from Reid Hendrickson that scored Drake Westcott after Lockport had tied the game in the top of the seventh, but Yancik, a junior, was still happy with his performance that helped the Tigers on the night.
“I was just working on hitting my fastball spots,” Yancik said. “The slider wasn't really working – I just tried to hit my fastball in the right places; it worked out good for me.
“I didn't focus too much on velocity, I just tried to hit spots and put the fastball where it was supposed to go. It worked out and I got a lot of quick outs.”
Of the Weins double that broke up the no-hitter, “it was just a jam-shot,” Yancik said. “It's just a hit – that's baseball for you.”
Yancik was pleased with going so deep into the game with a no-no. “I was really happy with that,” Yancik said. “That's as long as I've thrown all year; I was excited that I made it this far, to throw that deep in the game and give my team a chance to win.
“I was super-excited that I won that game – I could care less about the performance, just as long as we won – that's good enough for me. It was good to get that win.”
